The One-Straw Revolution

Curator: iLiana Fokianaki

Artists: Edgar Calel, Kyriaki Goni, Irene Kopelman, Uriel Orlow, Eliana Otta, Bik Van der Pol, Citra Sasmita, Arjuna Neuman with Denise Ferreira da Silva, Nora Severios, Himali Singh Soin.

Exhibition design: Katharina Sook Wilting & Tal

Framer Framed is proud to present The One-Straw Revolution, an exhibition curated by iLiana Fokianaki, opening on 10 February 2024.

‘The global crisis of unsustainability is not only a crisis of the hardware of civilization, it is also a crisis of the software of minds. The search for a more sustainable development in the “developed” world has, so far, been focusing too much on hardware updates, such as new technologies, economic incentives, policies and regulations, and too little on software revisions, that is cultural transformations affecting our ways of knowing, learning, valuing and acting together. The cultural software is, nevertheless, at least as much part of the fundamental infrastructure of a society as its material hardware’. —Sacha Kagan

Inspired by The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming (1975), an influential book on ecological thought and practice written by Japanese farmer and philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka, the exhibition serves as a first realisation of curator Fokianaki’s research into permaculture as a methodology for exhibition-making and institution-building, which she will develop over the coming years.

The title of Fukuoka’s book refers to the technique of scattering straw in a field post-harvest, following his philosophy of cultivating the earth with minimal waste and maximum respect towards ecosystem balance. Fukuoka’s work among others prompted scientists to coin the term “permaculture” as a shorthand for “permanent culture”—a philosophy and practice that emphasises working in harmony with the ecosystems we are a part of and dependent on. Permaculture proposes a long-term approach, putting prolonged and thoughtful observation ahead of extractive and thoughtless labour.

The exhibition is inspired by the main principles of this strand of ecological thought and practice, which propagate a way of being that heeds the existential threat posed by the climate crisis. It builds on the desire to highlight eon-long traditions of a non-proprietary culture of land and life, connecting a sustainable past with a sustainable future, ancestors with descendants while emphasising positions on a non-human centric intersectionality. It invites visitors to imagine and contemplate such a future, departing from our catastrophic implication in the Pyrocene and considering our role as fellow ecosystem contributors.

Furthermore, the project aims to explore imaginaries of sustainable futures through artistic practices that call for de-growth, focusing on the legacies of knowledge systems that have been thriving in spite of heteronormative patriarchal Western hegemonies and colonial and neo-colonial violence. The participating artists pay homage to the main principles of Indigenous and feminist ecological thought and practice. Some of the works presented focus on human disconnection from nature and our surroundings, highlighting the need to re-script the way we understand our species in connection to the world. Others trace the role of power systems and models of governance in the destruction of our environment and the disruption of interspecies kinships, as well as the corrosion of invaluable knowledge systems on ecosystem balance.

Spatially, the exhibition is structured around permaculture’s zone system, with a focus on zone 0: the human and her settlement. It takes the form of an alternative ecology, in which artworks contribute to shaping what Fokianaki calls “a shared perma-future”.

A public program developed in collaboration with Framer Framed, including film screenings and public discussions, will bring together artists and practitioners who actively engage with questions that extend from the themes of the exhibition.

For press enquiries, please contact: press [​at​] framerframed.nl

With thanks to State of Concept Athens.

Framer Framed is supported by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (Netherlands); Amsterdam Fund for the Arts; and Municipality of Amsterdam.