Gloria Benedikt
UnEarthing
PRESS RELEASE
An interactive performance by artists and scientists that investigates the relationship between humans and nature, and aims to reveal robust measures for a sustainable existence, premieres at the World Science Forum 2019.
What might a sustainable world look like? Will small scale, distributed facilities that harness renewable energy, surrounded by trees, dominate the landscape, or will there be large scale solar farms, smart grids, and geoengineering? Science offers multiple options to address the sustainability crisis. While one school of thought focuses on staying within the Earth's boundaries, the other emphasizes humans’ ability to solve problems through technological innovation. Neither approach prevails; the solutions are coexisting and sometimes competing with - rather than complementing - each other.
“This is not surprising when one considers that these solutions are based on different worldviews in terms of how we see our relationship to the planet and our role as humans on this planet. They can be traced to values that have shaped cultures long before the scientific revolution”, observes Gloria Benedikt, who directs the production. “Once you understand that values are rooted in worldviews, and once you look at the world through the worldview lens, the notion of plural solutions is apparent. Both are logical, both have strengths and weaknesses. To use the terms of cultural theory, there are no ‘elegant’ solutions that can last long term - but there are robust ‘clumsy’ solutions that emerge from compromise”.
UnEarthing takes the audience on a journey through human history to discover what values and resulting worldviews have brought us to the present. The interactive segment of the production, designed by IIASA research scholar Piotr Magnuszewski, will provide the audience with the opportunity to affect the course of the unfolding events and develop a viable and responsible path forward.
UnEarthing premiered on Nov 22nd, 2019 and was live-streamed from the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest.
The latest performance took place on December 1st, 2023, at the Teatro Blumenthal in Guadalajara, as part of the European Union's Guest of Honor at FIL.