Author Description

The group exhibition Image Ecology presents a global cross-section of twelve contemporary artistic responses in the form of photographs, video works, and installations. The artists employ experimental and traditional production methods, historical processes, as well as new technologies. The exhibition lays out the stages of the metabolic process in four thematically linked parts - Energy, Material, Labor, and Waste, ending by returning to the start with Energy. Alongside cyanotypes (Material), there are natural prints made using plant-based emulsions that fade over time when exposed to light (Energy). Also featured is a video piece about the supply chains of global capitalist consumption underpinning digital image technologies and the uninterrupted colonialist exploitation of resources and laborers in the D.R. Congo (Labor), as well as photographs printed from negatives developed in river water so contaminated by mining activity that it has turned acidic and red (Waste). By revealing the links and interdependencies of human and nonhuman life around the world, Image Ecology opposes the assumption of a dualistic understanding of nature versus culture. How can the world be more fairly organized given the challenges posed by ecological, economic, and social crises? The exhibition encourages human action and transnational solidarity, opening possibilities for forward-looking ecological photography practices. -- https://www.co-berlin.org/en/program/exhibitions/image-ecology.