Uncomfortable Companions

For a growing number of thinkers, the origin of the ecological crisis is a result of our way of looking at the world and our place in it. That is to say, the concept that mankind is the centre of all things, a superior species for all other living things to serve. The time has come to reassess this anthropocentric narrative which is incongruous with what is now understood about the relationships between species. More fitting than a pyramidal structure with humans at the top, experts suggest a complex network of interconnected living things interdependently linked. Recognition of these interconnections encourages a search for means to respectfully co-exist with other species.

Literary and artistic contexts have both highlighted our links with other species, generally with those considered “friendly” or useful from a human perspective, or distant from our daily life, such as the dog, the sheep, the monarch butterfly or the coral. However, establishing links with everyday species that are perceived as bothersome or repugnant – such as pigeons, wild boars, rats or mosquitos – is a little-studied challenge. Uncomfortable Companions is an invitation by artist and environmentalist Paula Bruna to collectively accept the challenge implied by this turn in contemporary ecocentrism.

The workshop is for the general public and especially those with an interest in biology, environmental science, philosophy, art, cinema or any other related discipline or line of work that addresses biodiversity, a perspective distant from anthropocentrism, ecocentrism thinking, ecofeminism and artistic research.

This activity is designed and conducted by Paula Bruna and is conceived as an invitation by the artist to participate in research within the framework of her project Companys incòmodes. Pràctiques artístiques de convivència entre espècies que no s'estimen. Currently Paula Bruna is an artist-in-residence at La Escocesa.