Again, Multiplicities of Rewilding

The dichotomous thinking ― nature vs. civilization(culture), ecology vs. humans - in modern Western society has caused nature to lose its original functions and statuses, becoming the object of conquering and development in the active context, and nurture and preservation in the passive context. As shown in climate change, extinction crisis, environmental pollution, and the COVID-19 pandemic, as the exploitation of nature in human society accelerated, crisis awareness that 'primitive nature' untouched by humans has been generalized.

Since the 1960s, some reflective views pointing out the widespread damages of male-centrism and capitalism in political, social, and psychological aspects of this crisis have emerged. Representative ones in such views are 'rewilding', 'deep ecology', and socio-ecological views in post-structuralism.

'Rewilding' and 'deep ecology' divides nature into two kinds: 'nature' understood through specialists, scientific knowledge, and public imagination, and 'natures' known to non-specialists, indigenous people, physical knowledge, and non-human actors. They also view that nature is not fixed or unchanging, but can be newly made in various forms according to performances of actors-networks. If the idea of existing preservation of nature is based on the pre-assumption on ideal nature, and focuses on recovering the conditions of nature and preserving current conditions, the idea of rewilding starts from the premise that plural natures can be created through various activities of humans and other plants and animals.

The socio-ecological views in post-structuralism are based on a new ecology with monism or pluralism rather than existing dualism of human(culture) vs. nature. According to Deleuze and Guattari, leading theorists of social ecology, it prefers heterogeneity and differences than holism, and, to seek rhizomatic structures, prefers synthesizing assemblages and synthesis of multiplicities to holistic structures.

In formative art, nature-friendly art which escaped from white cube, and unfolded in nature and land based on variety of environment has emerged. In particular, the area of three-dimensional work based on sculpture has become the sphere of wider spectrum based on the relationship between landscape and architecture together with land art.

However, the artworks oriented to exploitation or damage of nature under Western ideas has revealed its limits. Thus, this exhibition aims to search for discourses on new 'natures', rewilding and multiplicities in social, cultural, and artistic dimensions toward nature-friendly, restorative, healing works for future visions of nature art and new recovery of art ecology, which is based on the 40-year history of nature art independently cultivated in Korea.