THE BIOSPHERE CARNIVAL
To be alive in this beautiful, self-organizing universe — to participate in the dance of life with senses to perceive it, lungs that breathe it, organs that draw nourishment from it — is a wonder beyond words.”
― Joanna Macy
The Guidelines of Biosphere Carnival
The Biosphere Carnival was a community storytelling workshop organised in the hope of creating a more sustainable, environmentally conscious future, within the framework of the Youth for Sustainable Living Erasmus+ Youth Exchange programme for 33 young people from four European countries (Spain, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania.
The Biosphere Carnival was a playful community action aimed at reflecting on the techniques of environmental degradation due to human activity and at experiencing our own natural selves. The two four-hour workshops gave participants the opportunity to explore the world around them from the perspective of an animal, plant or natural phenomenon of their choice, and to interact with each other by embodying these perspectives, acting out and narrating an episode from the non-human-centred history of the Biosphere. In the storytelling, of course, there is also a role for man as a half-conscious, half-unconscious two-faced being who, on the one hand, is the cause of the suffering of the creatures in the Biosphere (including himself), but who also holds the potential to reconnect with the web of life and unravel the cycle of suffering…
The Biosphere Carnival is inspired by the community storytelling workshop Rehearsing the Revolution, led by Petra Ardai of the SPACE collective, and Joanna Macy’s The conference of All Beings.
The council of Beings and Their gifts to the humans
The message of the Beings of Biosphere
By clicking on the details of the picture you can listen what the beings are asking from us, humans…
Storm- Vihar
The Storm was kind to us and decided to remain silent…/ A vihar kegyes volt hozzánk és úgy döntött csendben elvonul…
Squirell-Mókus
The squirrel is a shy animal, so it decided not to talk, but to hide a few acorns that someone might find somewhere…/A mókus egy szégyenlős állat, ezért úgy dönött nem beszél, hanem inkább elrejt pár szem makkot, amit majd valaki valahol megtalálhat helyette…
Reed-Nád
The reed quietly rustles as it watches the stork and frog fights and prays that people don’t build a warehouse on the site of the small pond…/A nád csendben suhogva figyeli a gólyák és békák harcát és azért imádkozik, hogy a kis tó helyett az emberek ne építsenek raktárhelyiséget…
Wild Hemp- Vadkender
The wild hemp was to high to speak, so she just enjoyed the photosynthesis…
Pine tree-Fenyőfa
The pine quietly retreated from the noisy sawing of the people…/A fenyő csendben meghúzodott az emberek zajos fűrészei elől…
The Bioshepre Carnival Step-by-Step
1. Mapmaking
Participants drew and walked together along the most frequently travelled routes, showing the others how they had travelled along this route and what sensory experiences (smells, tastes, touch, images, sounds) they had encountered. Along this route, each person also identified an animal, plant or natural phenomenon that he or she often encountered along the route.
2.Maskmaking
One such creature found in the participant's environment had its mask made by the participant, using the waste produced by the community during the Youth Exchange.
3.30 minutes in the shoes of the beings of Biosphere
With this mask, the participants went to the top of the hill near the Campsite and, after an introductory meditation, spent 30 minutes observing themselves, their environment and each other from the perspective of this creature. During the exercise, the participants were allowed to communicate, but only in the creature's specific language; human language was forbidden.
4. Reflexional Video Diary
After the 30 minutes, the participants made a video diary in which they reported on their experiences.
5. The council of beings of the Biosphere
The game master then convened the Council of Biosphere Beings, where the creatures could speak up and say how they see human activity affecting them. An extract of this can be seen in the exhibition.
6. The gifts of the beings of the biosphere
The beings of the Biosphere then gifted humans with the skills to create a more harmonious, sustainable world around them. A list of some of these gifts can be seen in the exhibition. A video diary of some of them can be watched/listened to in the second half of the projection.
7. The request of the beings of the Biosphere and the proposal of their human impersonators for a more sustainable existence
Based on these experiences, the participants drew some lessons and identified some of the activities they had practiced that were not sustainable because they were considered harmful to the creature.
The scientific, philosophical and cultural ideas behind the Biosphere Carnival
Biology
Adam Frank, David Grinspsoon és Sara Walker: Intelligence as a planetary scale process
James Lovelock: The Gaia Hypothesis
Cognitive psychology
Barbara Tversky: The mind in movement
Philosophy
Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy about the embodiment
Cultural Theories
Joanna Macy: World as Lover, the World as Self
Buddhism and the interdependence of all beings
Arts
Godess Gaia as a mythological figure
Attila József: At the Daunbe