Multiple Knowledges and the Redefinition of the Self in the Environment

We exist within a set of rules about the value of knowledge – a hierarchy of knowledge that places quantified data at the top and the “lower” senses at the bottom. The neglect of other forms of knowledge – aesthetic, embodied, cultural and more – has created a void in our socio-political and environmental relations that has been filled by emotive, populist rhetoric that undermines the validity of the knowledge we have. Post-truth practices are answering a gap that arises from our reliance on cognitive knowledge as the main valid form of knowledge – including datafication of everything – particularly in politics. As an alternative, I propose we augment this cognitive and data derived knowledge with more emotionally connecting knowledges, to achieve a more integrated understanding of the world, and to once again embark on a quest for a type of truth.

This paper reports on my research in bringing to bear multiple knowledges on problem spaces around the environment and digital culture, and in so doing questioning both the prevailing knowledge hierarchy and the institutionalisation of knowledge production. To connect with the environment, for instance, do we need to connect with how it feels? This paper draws on works exploring both the marine environment and food, using knowledge from science, art, culture, instinct and history to create happenings and instances that break out the border of “me” and “my environment” to create an empathic response linking what we traditionally consider to be inside and outside. This will be demonstrated in the context of three artistic works – the Coral Empathy Device, Vital | Flows and The Matter of the Soul.