Karolina Sobecka
Institute for Aesthetic Practice & Theory, HGK, Basel
Jamie Allen
Critical Media Lab, Basel & NSCAD, Halifax
February 11, 2019
The Chamber (Reitz Student Union)
3 PM–4:30 PM
About the Event
It is that which at this instant, issuing out of a labyrinthine tangle of yeses and no’s, makes my hand run along a certain path on the paper, mark it with these volutes that are signs: a double snap, up and down, between two levels of energy, guides this hand of mine to impress on the paper this dot, here, this one. – Primo Levi, “Carbon,” from The Periodic Table (1975)
If there is a universe in every word, each atom also creates its own narrative. In this performance lecture spanning a contemporary history of its composition, markets and capture, a literary cycle of Carbon is developed in moving image, text and diagram. The use and abuse of cycles as models of exchange and circulation are examined for their appropriateness and applicability, and new models are proposed for our relationship to this building block of life, petrocultures and capitalism. Karolina Sobecka and Jamie Allen present a cyclical discussion in six elements for element number six.
The lecture will include a hands-on element: we will ask the audience to re-draw the carbon cycle, based on their personal experiences.
This event is free and open to the public. No advance registration is required.
About the Speakers
Karolina Sobecka is an artist, designer and researcher examining social arrangements that exploit, resist or accommodate technological change. Sobecka’s work has been shown internationally, including at the Victoria & Albert Museum, The National Art Museum of China, MoMa Film, ZKM and Marfa Dialogues, and has received numerous awards, including from Creative Capital, NYFA and the Princess Grace Foundation. Sobecka has taught at SAIC, RISD, and NYU, and is currently a doctoral researcher at the Institute for Aesthetic Practice and Theory, HGK, Basel, Switzerland.
Jamie Allen is Senior Researcher at the Critical Media Lab, Basel, and Canada Research Chair in Infrastructure, Media and Communications at NSCAD, in Halifax, Canada. He has been an electronics engineer, a polymer chemist and a designer with the American Museum of Natural History. Allen works at the intersection of art, design, ecology, science, technology and is occupied with the creation of prefigurative institutions that are generous and collaborative, acknowledging that friendship, passion, and love are central to knowledge practices like art and research.
Location of Event & Parking
The Reitz Union (686 Museum Road, Gainesville, FL 32611) is centrally located on the UF campus. The most convenient parking for this event is in the Reitz Union garage at the corner of Museum Road and Reitz Union Drive. A small parking fee will apply during the time of this event.
“This Cycle, Here, This One” is sponsored by Imagining Climate Change and the Howard T. Odum Center for Wetlands.