Ecognosis
In a dark space, stop-motion animations are projected using video mapping onto three-dimensional paper buildings and modes of transport. The animations consist of handmade plants, insects and microbes. In a theatrical installation, the artist duo depicts how our artificial world collapses and nature takes over when humans are out of the picture. Erin Tjin A Ton and Gosia Kaczmarek show the beauty and intelligence of nature reclaiming its place when we are no longer there to maintain our artificial world.
The projected animations react to the sounds made by the spectator. This allows the spectator to directly influence the growth and appearance and disappearance of the animated flora and fauna.
The term ‘Ecognosis’ was introduced by Timothy Morton, a British philosopher who works extensively with artists. It refers to the notion that non-human nature is an essential part of our being, that it permeates the roots of our thinking. Awareness of this coexistence underpins ecological thinking in art, politics and morality. The installation is in turn inspired by Alan Weisman’s book ‘The World Without Us’, in which the author describes how nature regains control of the world once humans disappear.
The artist duo BetweenTwoHands consists of Erin Tjin A Ton (Netherlands, 1985) and Gosia Kaczmarek (Poland, 1981). With their love for materials, technology and craft, they wish to touch the public with social themes such as the alienation of the individual in a technological environment. Both artists studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, among other places.
