The attempts of authorities to resolve ecological issues are futile; it can only be achieved through an ecosophy that addresses
the three ecological registers:
the environment, social relations and
human subjectivity.


Felix Guattari
(The Three Ecologies)

Methodology

Figure 2
The Three Ecosystems, and the emergence of a new one
by Luciana Hermida.

Exploring ecosystems

In order to explore nature and communicate the role we play in this exchange, I have chosen to link the study of the The Three Ecologies by Felix Guattari and explore the concept of ecosystem and its boundaries.

To address the existence of invisible boundaries which exist within our society, I find relevant to interconnect my findings and explorations of our biological world to The Three Ecologies by Felix Guattari (1989). The ecologies stated by Guattari [see Figure 1] are interdependent and their common ground is the concept of Ecosophy. He addresses how without transformations of our mentalities (mental ecology) and collective habits (social ecology), there will be no measures taken concerning the material environment (environmental ecology).

Transposing this onto my way of thinking about the subject of human connection with nature, the three different ecosystems chosen to be explored across different sites share physical as well as cultural and social aspects. These are the human ecosystem, the water (either sea, lake or river) and the land (forests, grasslands). The water and land intrinsically share physical boundaries, such as on an island, or a forest at the edge of the sea, or a city by the river. The human ecosystem interacts within each of these naturally; as habitants of this world we interact with the water and the land in different ways and for different purposes.

From the interaction of these three ecosystems I will aim to explore the emergence of a ‘new ecosystem’ which basically contemplates how a symbiotic relationship with nature is possible when a mutual and beneficial exchange takes place.

Figure 1
The Three Ecologies
by Felix Guattari