Video Installation, Workshop, Manual | 2023
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Manifesting Earthly Survival explores the role of collective narratives and imagination in developing speculative scenarios about the future of planet Earth..
The project utilizes "manifestation" techniques, a practice that aims to realize ideas and visions by establishing a proactive mindset, that then becomes the basis for enabling positive behavioral changes, leading to a defined goal. Initially touted as an online self-improvement phenomenon mostly to achieve personal financial success, these techniques were appropriated and utilized within the project with a shift in focus from the self, to the community and the global.
The project introduces an instruction-based routine to stimulate a shift towards sustainability, presented through a video installation, a manual, and applied through a guided workshop. The video outlines the steps necessary to Manifest Earthly survival, including identifying gratitude for the Earth's resources as well as those working to protect them; raising awareness by deepening the effects of the climate catastrophe; collectively writing and visualizing desirable future scenarios; and aligning thoughts and intentions with actions leading to them. The techniques were accompanied by images of thriving natural areas and 3D-generated scenes of Earthly ecosystems, providing a substrate for the following workshop.
In group sessions, the routine is performed by the participants. Following the visualization phase, the discussion focuses on the values and scenarios considered valuable for the future, oscillating between idealism and concrete solutions. This culminated in an important moment of collective affirmation of intention: although the detailed scenarios may have differed, the manifestation of the common will to promote the survival of the Earth served as a powerful catalyst for solidarity and joint action.
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