Paradise Lost and Found: Paths of Ecological Resilience

Text by Carolina Reis

The word “paradise” is used nowadays to define natural environments of generous vegetation, teeming with life and beauty. We think of paradises as spaces that are free from human intervention. Now that there is no place left on earth that is not contaminated by human activity, artists are revisiting the idea of paradise in their own way, and the term is taking on new meanings in our imagination.
 

In her book "Braiding Sweetgrass", Robin Wall Kimmerer develops an ecological perspective that links ancient indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge and plant teachings. Kimmerer argues that the human destruction of ecosystems is irreversible and that the only way forward is to reestablish a relationship of true reciprocity with nature by mourning the losses incurred by human exploitation. Only after accepting what we no longer have can we finally rebuild a new culture and a new vision of the place of human beings in the living world.
 

This project reflects the idea of reciprocity put forward by Robin Wall Kimmerer by bringing together three films and an exhibition of artwork by ten artists. Together, these pieces propose a diversity of dialogues with the environment and decentralized views of the place of human beings within the biosphere.

Through their works, these artists invite us to rethink the place of humans in their environment and to imagine different ways of reconstructing the paradises of the future with the remains of a fragmented nature. The found objects of paradise are treasures salvaged amidst devastation to help us discover ways of fostering ecological resilience.

- Text by Carolina Reis