The Language of Climate Care II

Ania Molenda and Clarinde Wesselink

Care Ecologies

Event

“Every living thing has two bodies. To be an animal is to be in possession of a physical body, a body which can eat, drink and sleep; it is also to be embedded in a worldwide network of ecosystems. When every human body has an uncanny global presence, how do we live with ourselves?”

Daisy Hildyard, "The Second Body"

ATD | April 17th, 2024

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On April 17th, 2024, the Care Ecologies group hosted the second workshop as part of the Language of Climate Care series. Developing from two theoretical notions, participants engaged in a warm up, reflection, writing and group exercises that expanded their understanding of care through movement and language. They used The Language of Climate Care’s ongoing archive of words, phrases, and object traces to continue as a base for the workshop exchanges. The event included a filling lunch where conversation and exchange continued.

Through the notion of minor gestures defined by philosopher Erin Manning we dived deeper into relationships between our bodies and space. Moreover the concept of the second body by novelist Daisy Hildyard helped us reflect on ways in which we could embody a relation with ecosystems that are much larger than us or our immediate spaces. Together we asked how to express the relationships formed through that embodiment, and what qualities can emerge between those expressions.

How can we archive a sense of care? What do we have to unlearn in order to create a caring practice whether it is a design practice or art practice? How does the body provide another dimension to the language of climate care?