Why in Earth would you?

About

While valuable contemporary debates are being had about the state of the Earth, it is still somewhat taboo to imply the Earth is a sentient being.  However, we have seen New Zealand implementing ground-breaking bills to protect animals on grounds of sentience. The dichotomy between ecologism and environmentalism is the paradigm at stake. Giving nature intrinsic value implies that we equate our existence with the existence of the rest of the Earth’s inhabitants and beyond. Why in Earth would you? explores the political, scientific, ideological and geological side of this hypothetical-or-not being that causes so much debate. Inês M. Ferreira presents variations on the themes of patriarchy, destruction, actions, immaterial vs material and cultural heritage seeking to disclose her anxiety surrounding questions such as who drills the Earth and why, and at what cost to the planet and its inhabitants does society overuse its resources.

M. Ferreira’s work is charged with commentary. At the core of the work is the role of Ecology in our lives and the inadequacy of the Western mentality to respond to the problems it has created. Humans aren’t effectuating fair sovereignties and the necessity for implementing scientific data in protecting the environment is urgent. Amongst political leaders, an ecological framework is still frowned upon when tackling the interconnectedness of a heavily globalised world. This attitude is also adopted by voters, as there isn’t a confident political and ecological plan in place, leaving voters not knowing what they need to want.

This crisis of desire is leading to humankind’s own implosion. Inspired by male dominated cultures, corporate colonialism has been the driving force, the means to an end to the individualism that charmed us into capitalism, an order of power so powerful that it assimilates all ideologies, thwarting their most intrinsic values, such as feminism and ecologism, to name but a few. It’s within this dystopian reality that Why in Earth would you? is an exercise in freedom of speech.

Questioning why governments go to war, or why generations are left without intergenerational and traditional knowledge, or why are we so absurdly seduced into our own destruction may seem too large and complex, yet the depth of M. Ferreira’s approach challenges the viewer into thinking about such big questions, presenting artefacts-made-comments, that when put in a room, talk of the ecosystem of contemporary existence. Why in Earth would you? functions as a forum for debate where art sits as the mediator between viewer and artist, encouraging voters and political leaders to consider how change could take place.