Raze the Barricades. Raise the Stakes.
Porous borders are essential for maintaining life. The structure of trees, amphibians, algae, zebras, humans, and dandelions all include numerous small pores and/or a few large portals. Pores and portals function as entry ways for life-sustaining elements and exits for life-endangering wastes.
Nonetheless, humans tend to ignore the intermingling principle that accounts for 700 million years of life on Earth in favor of barricades. Barricades involve the willful construction of dividers. They are designed to disrupt unity by blocking access, interaction, exchange, and communication. Barricades exist for protection, fortification, defense, possessiveness. They influence, control and direct the flow-and-stoppage of materials, life forms, energy, resources and thought.
But barricades can be costly, unnecessary, damaging, wasteful, and/or grievous. Many eco artists are designing strategies for dismantling these obstructions and replacing them with opportunities for mutual exchange.
The following list provides evidence of the significance of this investigation:
Physical barricades include fences, enclosures, corrals, gates, walls, pipes, locks, dams
Political barricades include roadblocks, blockades, quarantines, national borders, DMZs, economic sanctions
Psychological barricades include prejudice, trauma, danger, fear
In each of these categories barricades separate mine from yours, friend from foe, kin from foreigner, and citizen from invader.
The following eco artists are unifiers and assemblers. They are helping to establish the dynamic integration of all Earthly events:
Andy Gracie busts the barricade between electronic/amphibian/vegetative communication.
Tissue Culture & Art busts the barricade between living and non-living matter, while Terike Haapoja busts the barricade between living and decomposing.
Gelitin busts the barricade between waste and resource.
Carolee Schneemann busts the barricade between primal materiality and sensuality.