How can we see rocks as kin and cousins? Moving away from taxonomies that separate organic and inorganic life, we’ll grow crystals and get to know our favorite rocks on their terms and times.
Free workshop, please register via email at george.s@mzbaltazarslaboratory.org
WHEN: June 13, 13:00–15:00
WHERE: Mz.Baltazar’s Lab, Jägerstraße 52-54, 1200 Vienna, Austria
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
Over 30% of the rocks on this planet are byproducts of life. The remaining 70% are stones, sand, magma, mountains, mud that are necessary for life to exist: the earth as a geological body cannot be divided from life. They are not two entities, they don’t exist as a binary, they are one single, ongoing, self-organized process: volcanism gives rise to mountains that give rise to rivers, forests, creatures, which in turn erode the mountains, carving valleys, shaping soils, becoming roots, bugs, humans. Geology tells the story of the queerness of matter, especially when read through deep time: no stone is only a stone but a multiplicity of life, time, chemistry, and physical forces. Humanity has insisted on binaries, categories, and taxonomies, this makes them easier to exploit: 17% of the Amazon mined, 64,000 hectares in Colombia exploited for gold, 9,500 in Chile for copper. But life shapes geology and geology shapes life: all matter, mineral, biological, and even technological, is a temporary configuration of matter and energy, a shapeshifting, anarchic, inherently queer trajectory of matter in constant transformation.
In this workshop we will take a closer look into rocks, minerals, and other geological formations. Starting with a theoretical introduction into the history of geological taxonomies, and into concepts like deep time. In a practical part, we will grow crystals, explore their properties, and write about how they defy and challenge taxonomies and binaries.
