Planetary boundaries: jewellery at the intersection of science, art, and societal transformation
Reverting the environmental changes that we have created is probably the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced. A challenge so big requires a multidisciplinary and multidimensional approach where effective and creative communication is vital. Being such an ancient and expressive art form, jewellery is the perfect vehicle for raising awareness, creating understanding, motivating a change in behaviour, as well as for provoking deeper emotional and intellectual engagement.
National
Germany
Rheinland-Pfalz
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
As an individual
First name: Guillermina Last name: Echeverria-Lozano Gender: Female Nationality: Mexico Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: NA Yet Town: Idar-Oberstein Postal code: 55743 Country: Germany Direct Tel:+52 55 3932 9699 E-mail:guillermina.echeverria@gmail.com Website:http://minapolen.com
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Yes
New European Bauhaus or European Commission websites
Reverting the environmental changes that we have created is probably the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced. Such a big challenge requires a multidisciplinary and multidimensional approach where effective and creative communication is key. Icons and symbols play an important communicative role not only in art but also in science and science communication, where visual elements help illustrate concepts and clarify information. It has also been suggested that these images may play a role in provoking openness to deep emotional capacities and higher understanding, as well as in societal transformation, as they offer a fertile starting point for dialogue and exploration. Jewellery is a powerful and portable individual and cultural artistic expression and, as a form of non-verbal communication, it engages with the body, the space, and the observers. Being such an ancient, expressive, and intimate form of art, jewellery is the perfect vehicle for raising awareness, provoking reflection, motivating a change in behaviour, as well as for provoking deeper emotional and intellectual engagement. By using symbols, iconic images, as well as storytelling and science communication elements, the present project aims to create communicative jewellery pieces that are relevant for the multidisciplinary work in sustainability science, in general, and for the communication of the planetary boundaries’ framework, in particular. The aim is to create a collection of aesthetically attractive, thought-provoking, awareness-rising, conversation-enabling scalable pieces that work as a portal to deep emotional and intellectual awareness and as a starting point for dialogue, reflection and transformation about the place and responsibility we have as Earth dwellers. Each jewellery piece will have an information card about the planetary boundary represented and the actions needed to avoid crossing these boundaries. I will also work on a series of tailor-made poems for these pieces.
contemporary jewellery
science communication
planetary boundaries
sustainability
scalable jewellery
The key objectives are: 1) to use the arts for the communication of science. It has been shown that the arts can be a useful way of communicating science, and the language of art is now more crucial than ever to encourage people to take action to tackle the sustainability challenges we face. Iconic images and symbols play a key communicative role not only in art but also in science and science communication, where visual elements and other forms of creative expression are helpful to illustrate concepts and clarify information. It has also been suggested that the use of images may play a role in provoking openness to deep emotional capacities and higher understanding, and that iconic images and symbols may play a significant role in societal transformation as they offer a fertile starting point for dialogue and exploration. 2) to communicate about the planetary boundaries through a jewellery collection. To my knowledge, this will be the first jewellery project aimed specifically at communicating about the planetary boundaries’ framework (where climate change and other sustainability challenges are included). Jewellery is a powerful and portable individual and cultural artistic expression and, as a form of non-verbal communication, it engages with the body, the space, and with the observers. Jewellery conveys messages in a striking and immediate way, partly because of its widespread use of icons, symbols, and other communication elements. Being such an ancient, expressive, and intimate form of art, jewellery is the perfect vehicle for raising awareness, communicating real or ideal scenarios about the Earth system, provoking reflection, enabling, or motivating a change in behaviour, as well as for provoking deeper emotional and intellectual engagement. Furthermore, jewellery pieces can be easily scalable into bigger sculptural creations, expanding the communicative potential of the original pieces. Each piece will also have an information card and a tailor-made poem.
The two key objectives of this project are to create jewellery pieces that 1) are aesthetically attractive, and 2) that have a communicative function. Jewellery has always fulfilled a variety of functions. The two most important are probably its adornment function, where the beauty and the aesthetic are important; and its communication function, where the piece conveys messages about the wearer’s cultural group, set of beliefs, or others. What is novel in this project is the use of symbols and imagery to communicate -through jewellery- the science, the human involvement, and other aspects related to the planetary boundaries’ framework. Though the form of symbolic communication used on jewellery might not be universal, we can readily understand symbols and messages within a wider context. In jewellery as in science, we recognize specific symbols, and we emotionally react to them. For instance, when current environmental challenges are mentioned, several images come to mind such as polar bears, storms, urban sprawl, forest fires, and spreading croplands, just to mention a few. These symbols also provoke a certain emotional response. The final jewellery collection of this project is envisioned as a group of aesthetically attractive, thought-provoking, awareness-raising, and conversation-enabling pieces. Ideally, they will create awareness about our role in the current environmental crisis, will motivate action, and will light hope about our own potential as agents of positive change. The jewellery collection will also have companion information cards and poems, both aimed at building a wider understanding and a deeper reflection of the socioecological processes we currently live in. The power of jewellery should never be underestimated. Despite its size, it might stir a great interest and emotional response.
Current environmental challenges such as climate change, ocean acidification, land-system change, and biodiversity loss, exclude no one. The need for environmental justice for all is paramount for contemporary communities at all levels, and so should be the creative and inclusive ways we envision to communicate those challenges and motivate joint efforts to tackle them. That is the reason why additional to the non-verbal elements included on each jewellery piece there will be an information card about the planetary boundary considered (such as a description of the process, current knowledge, and possible actions) on each jewellery piece, as well as a companion poem. This information card will also be carefully designed so that it is clear and easy to understand for the public. So, in terms of inclusion, an important element of this project will be the way in which the message is communicated. The combination of symbols and icons, as well as the information cards and poems, will be all aimed at communicating a message that is important for all of us, regardless of our social background and scientific literacy. As a portable art form, jewellery can be easily moved to a variety of venues for exhibition purposes where accessibility will be carefully considered. Additionally, because of the nature and size of the pieces it will be possible to manipulate the pieces by the public, allowing the engagement of different audiences with the jewellery pieces.
Science communication is now more important than ever. The environmental crisis we face urges us not only to understand the facts behind it, but also to understand -and make our own- the possible actions we can take as citizens of the world. Science communication can help citizens navigate the extensive amount of scientific information available and, regarding the environmental crisis we face, it can help understand the facts and actions needed as well as remove existing knowledge barriers and bring confidence and hope in the future. This understanding is the basis to work as a global community, but we also need a stronger emotional motivation to act, and the arts can do exactly this. In this project, art can inspire but it can also inform. Citizens that get in contact with the jewellery collection of this project will have an aesthetic experience, will learn some of the facts and figures behind the planetary boundaries, and will be able to read a poem related to them. This project will join the art initiatives that aim at offering a point of dialogue, exploration, and understanding that also motivates action and imagination.
This project will be my MFA project at the Department of Gemstones and Jewellery at Trier University of Applied Sciences at campus Idar-Oberstein, Germany. So, I will have invaluable guidance from the staff at the university. Additionally, I am planning to get in touch with specialists working at the intersection of arts and science, and with other graduate students or researchers working on issues related to the planetary boundaries framework. During the research I conducted to prepare my proposal, I identified some groups and researchers that I can get in contact with to dialogue and discuss ideas. As an artist with a scientific background, I am interested in creating synergies and collaborations between artists and scientists to help in the creation of collaborative networks. I believe that these collaborative networks will not only enrich my project and take it to its full potential but they will also create lasting collaborative networks that could benefit those involved. Furthermore, during the development of the project, and with the help of the Professors at Trier University, I will identify different venues to take the project to galleries and other suitable venues within Germany but also in other countries within Europe.
This project will involve different specialists from the arts, sciences and science communication. I am a scientist (biologist) with experience in environmental issues and science communication; I am also a writer (mostly a poet) and a jewellery artist. I believe that my experience, combined with the experience of the staff at Campus Idar-Oberstein, as well as the connections we establish during the development of this project, will guarantee the originality of the project and the spread of its message. In other words, I (artist, scientist, and science communicator) will get feedback from other artists (mostly staff at campus Idar-Oberstein) and academics (specialists in science and science communication) to create jewellery pieces with a stronger message. Although the responsibility of the project will be mine, I am interested in getting feedback from other specialists and creating long-lasting collaborative networks. This will probably be an exceptional interaction of specialists for a single jewellery collection. I believe that jewellery can go way beyond its current reach and that it is a fertile area for interaction and synergies between representatives of different fields.
On one hand, despite the considerable amount of jewellery artists and the vast number of artists that use nature as a source of inspiration, contemporary jewellery is rarely considered as a leading artistic discipline in efforts to raise awareness about environmental challenges. On the other hand, it has been highlighted that artworks aimed at communicating sustainability issues often lack a clear depiction of our responsibility and involvement in those same issues. This is an important element to consider: we are those creating the decline, but we are also those having the potential of reverting that decline. This communicative element will be an important goal in the creation of the jewellery collection of this project, as well as in the information cards and poems created for each jewellery piece. The innovative character of this project is that 1) jewellery will be used to communicate and raise awareness about current environmental processes (planetary boundaries), 2) it will include science communication elements, 3) it will have companion information cards and poems, 4) the final pieces will easily move to different venues to have more opportunities to spread the message. So, by giving jewellery a stronger communicative purpose and by involving people from different disciplines, I am hopeful that this project will help strengthen the efforts to communicate the urgency to guarantee our survival and that of other species on this planet. Ever since its appearance in the archaeological record, jewellery has always worked as a powerful artistic expression for symbolic communication. Considering the environmental challenges we face; it is time we put jewellery to better use.
As small sculptural objects, the final jewellery collection will be easily scalable into bigger pieces, like bigger metal works, sculptures with paper and other materials; and they will also be scalable into smaller pieces, or reproduced into the same size but using other materials such as cardboard, paper, etc. The bigger pieces could be replicable by other artists, and the smaller and/or cardboard pieces could also be reproduced for educational purposes at the elementary or junior high school levels. For example, an image of each of the final pieces could be printed out as an activity book to be distributed at schools, museums, fairs, congresses, etc. In this format, the book could also include relevant information for each planetary boundary depicted using the right language for the target audience. The companion information cards about planetary boundaries as well as the collection of poems created for this purpose could be also easily distributed in printed form or as a digital product. In other words, each of the elements of this project could be reproduced as a group or as individual elements, and they can take different forms. I envision several ways, analogical and digital, in which the message of this project can be spread.
There will be several stages in the creation of the jewellery pieces: 1) exploration of materials, 2) selection of materials, 3) selection of symbols and other communicative elements, 4) final design, and 5) the writing of information cards and poems. In the case of the jewellery collection, this will not be a linear process but an iterative one where exploration will be a key component. There will be an initial and extensive exploration of materials and techniques at the different studios at the Department of Gemstones and Jewellery at campus Idar-Oberstein. The selection of materials, the design, and the selection of symbols and communicative elements will happen more of less at the same time as they will feed one another. There are other conceptual considerations that will play a role in the process of creating the jewellery collection: A) The permanence and impermanence of the materials used: this issue is also inherent to sustainability and will form part of the communicative elements of each piece. B) The language: the idea is to create a jewellery collection that shares a common language or common communicative elements that may also strengthen the individual and the general messages. The planetary boundaries framework, with its interconnected elements, it is the perfect theme for developing a common language within a collection. C) The imagery and the scenarios: environmental scenarios have been a commonly used tool in future-oriented studies on environmental change, and they can help us explore the implications of current driving forces. Combined with the right imagery (symbols and images), the scenarios will be an important component of the message of each piece. The information cards will be written once the collection is finished to highlight the most important elements on each case. The poems on the other hand, will be written (edited and written again) throughout the whole project and the best ones will be chosen at the end.
Climate change is the biggest environmental concern of our days. The global goal to avoid an irreversible situation is to keep the global average temperature below an increase of 2 C. Unfortunately, this is not the only threshold we should not cross to maintain the conditions that allow human development. There are other boundaries, that human activities are threatening, related to some of the planet’s biophysical subsystems or processes. These boundaries are defined by threshold levels of specific variables and scientists have proposed a set of nine planetary boundaries within which humanity can continue to develop and thrive in the future. These planetary boundaries are the focus of this project and are defined as 1) *Novel entities, 2) Stratospheric ozone depletion, 3) Atmospheric aerosol loading, 4) Ocean acidification, 5) *Biogeochemical flows, 6) *Freshwater use, 7) *Land-system change, 8) *Biosphere integrity, and 9) *Climate change. So far, at least six planetary boundaries have surpassed their safe operating spaces: climate change and those marked with “*” above. The authors of the first publication about them suggested that crossing these boundaries would increase the risk of generating irreversible environmental changes and a somehow unpredictable, chain of events. Taking immediate action to prevent further changes is of paramount importance, and that is why this project is aiming at raising awareness and communicating -in an accessible and creative way- the facts, risks, and current knowledge about the planetary boundaries. Ideally, the jewellery pieces will work as a starting point for dialogue, reflection and transformation about the place and the responsibility we have as Earth dwellers. Science communication and art are now more important than ever to create a sense of global community.
As part of my application for the MFA at the Department of Gemstones and Jewellery at Trier University of Applied Sciences (campus Idar-Oberstein, Germany), I sent a brief project proposal. This proposal included 1) background information, 2) the project’s aim, 3) a section about the exploration process and the materials, where the permanence and impermanence of the materials were discussed as well as the visual language, and 4) an outline of the associated imagery and the specific materials for each planetary boundary was also included. However, the proposal also stated that the first year will be very important as there will be an extensive exploration of materials at the workshops at campus Idar-Oberstein. There will also be discussions with the teachers, professors, and other students there. I am bringing knowledge about science and science communication, and some jewellery-making skills, but I would like to discuss the ideas with other professionals working on the communication of science through the arts, professionals working with planetary boundaries, as well as professionals in the science communication area. So, in the year following the application I will get in touch with them to establish collaborations for this project and for future synergies. I have some design ideas in mind, but the final designs will be probably different once I have made my own exploration and I have discussed the ideas with the experts stated above. So, along with the right use of materials and imagery, I envision my final pieces as a coherent group of aesthetically attractive, thought-provoking, awareness-raising, and conversation-enabling pieces. Ideally, they will work as a portal to deep emotional and intellectual awareness and as a starting point for dialogue, reflection, and transformation about the place and the responsibility we have.
As this project will be a combination of art and science communication about climate change and other planetary boundaries, it will contribute to the learning process for the green transition and sustainable development in the following ways: 1) it will contribute to creating a shared understanding on the deep and transformative changes needed for sustainability and the green transition, 2) it will involve a number of audiences in learning for sustainability, 3) within the European competence framework on sustainability, this project will contribute to the learning of the four competence groups related to sustainability, namely a) Embodying sustainability values: valuing sustainability and promoting nature; b) Embracing complexity in sustainability: critical thinking and problem framing; c) Acting for sustainability: collective action and individual initiative; d) Envisioning sustainable futures: futures literacy and exploratory thinking. Furthermore, as this project will not only focus on the communication of climate change but in a total of nine processes related to the planetary crisis, it is expected to have a bigger impact towards the green transition and sustainable development within Europe and for a wide range of audiences.
