The following pages are scanned from 'Yes Naturally: how art saves the world'
“How can we humans establish enduring relationships with the world around us, in which not just human beings, but also nonhuman actors, play an active role? After all, with every step we take, with every action we undertake, we come in close contact with our environment; we continuously influence different bodies, cultures, ecosystems. The worldwide food crisis, climate change and the decline in biodiversity as results of capitalist privatisation and the ‘free market’ demonstrate that the social and ecological worlds are inextricably intertwined. Moreover, these recent and urgent phenomena reveal a disproportionate burden. In a world of social and ecological injustice, it is especially the people from lower social classes, ‘developing’ countries and sensitive ecosystems that pay the price for capitalist progress. In some instances their very survival is threatened. Think, for example, how much indigenous knowledge of the beneficial effects of plant species transitioned via an oral tradition for centuries has been lost because the habitats of these plant species have been destroyed. Also, research into the rising suicide rates among Indian farmers indicates that this dramatic phenomenon is rooted in a complex combination of social and economic factors. Among them, the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s - in which traditional organic farming methods were replaced by mechanistic, production-enhancing techniques such as chemical fertilisers and genetically modified crops - is thought to have contributed to the increase in suicides, due to higher costs yet lower yields.
Yes Naturally aims to show us that social justice and ecological justice are inseparably intertwined. This more inclusive take on justice is based on a pragmatic ethos centred on taking responsibility for the consequences of our actions. The dominant ideology of profit seeking and technological process must make way for an engaging aesthetics that promotes care, responsibility and the interactive process.
The discussion about taking socioecological responsibility in regard to our actions is a theme that inspires many social engaged artists. The artists involved in Yes Naturally are, in their own way, working to investigate and expose social and ecological injustices, and - where possible - to restore the disrupted equilibrium. With their work, these artists acknowledge the interrelated nature of socio-ecological realities. They focus on the local within a global context, devoting particular attention to the community and everyday life."
p 137
