Speculative Image Ecologies

Starting point

The ecological crisis calls into question not only existing ways of engaging with nature, but also the very way in which nature is perceived. This doctoral research project examines how photographic practices can help to make ‘more-than-human’ relationships perceptible. The starting point is the question of how photography can go beyond a mere representation of nature and create aesthetic conditions under which ecological interrelationships, material processes and non-human agencies become visible.

Research question

The central question is under which aesthetic conditions photographic practices can make ‘more-than-human’ relationships tangible, and what forms of aesthetic-epistemic knowledge emerge in the process.

Methodological approach

The project combines various photographic methods: staged photographs of fungi, stones, roots, ice and other more-than-human entities; images captured by wildlife cameras; and analogue films placed directly in forest environments, where they are exposed to the ground, moisture, decay and the passage of time.

These methods shift the conditions under which images are produced. Whilst the staged photographs are still strongly shaped by human decisions, in the wildlife camera and material film methods, animals, environmental conditions and material processes play an increasingly significant role in the creation of the images.

Working hypothesis

The project is based on the premise that photographic processes not only depict nature but can also alter the conditions of perception. By deliberately opening up photographic processes, image constellations emerge in which ecological relationships are not merely represented but become aesthetically tangible.

Initial findings

Artistic research to date shows that different photographic processes each produce their own distinct forms of visualisation. In particular, photographic sequences, diptychs, triptychs and larger image constellations open up spaces of perception in which relationships, material processes and atmospheres can be experienced as aesthetic contexts. The work suggests that such visual practices enable forms of aesthetic-epistemic knowledge that elude taxonomic or quantitative approaches.

Theoretical framework

This doctoral project operates at the intersection of artistic research, image theory, speculative aesthetics, posthumanism and New Materialism. It examines photography as a medium that not only depicts but also shifts the conditions of perception and enables new forms of thinking with and through images.

This doctoral project is being carried out as part of SINTA (Studies in the Arts), the joint doctoral programme run by the University of Bern and the Bern University of the Arts (HKB).