What is intelligence?
Ways of Being: Beyond Human Intelligence, by James Bridle (2022, Farrar, Straus & Giroux), and Planta Sapiens: Unmasking Plant Intelligence, by Paco Calvo and Natalie Lawrence (2022, The Bridge Street Press)
As the poet and visionary William Blake wrote:
‘The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way.
Some see nature all ridicule and deformity… and some scarce see nature at all.
But to the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.’
James Bridle (p. 16; 2022, Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
In the last bit of research I did for my final project, an exciting new way of looking at intelligence is proposed by James Bridle in his book, Ways of Being. He explains that much of the science of studying intelligence in non-human beings, has until recently been flawed by human-centric bias. By measuring other animals abilities to solve puzzles, scientists have wrongly measured intelligence according to human perceptions of how it should be defined. Instead, recent science is revealing that the ‘more-than-human’ have experiences of their own, unlike ours, and that for them, intelligence could mean something different that we can’t fully grasp, a wholly subjective experience of the world.
“To think against human exceptionalism requires us to think outside and beyond it, and to recognise in Blake’s vision the deep truth of his words: nature is imagination itself. In this truth is encapsulated the philosophy behind the phrase I used earlier: the more-than-human world.”
James Bridle (p. 17; 2022, Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
In Planta Sapiens, a book I have recently started, Paco Calvo reveals through studying plants, that he is able to demonstrate to the public that plants respond to anaesthesia and go to sleep, just like an animal or human would. He then posits the question, does that mean they are normally awake? He suggests that each plant has an individual experience of the world, as they can move to follow the sun, and even predict its position the following morning. Does this mean they are aware? If this is true of the smaller plants he studies, I wonder what it might mean for giant ancient trees. After all, in Suzanne Simard’s work I studied last year, the ground-breaking scientist who revealed that trees can communicate via underground mycorrhizal networks, if her science has only recently come to the fore, what else might we discover?
“We are so entrenched in the dogma of neuronal intelligence, brain-centric consciousness, that we find it difficult to imagine alternative kinds of internal experience.”
Paco Calvo, (p. 3; 2022, Bridge Street Press)
Rewilding my creativity
If you get stuck, sit by something moving in nature, like a stream of water, and you will get moving again, and many more nuggets of wisdom!
An 8 week online course, Rewilding Mythology, hosted by Sophie Strand, by Advaya.
“What would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and of wildness? Let them be left,
O let them be left, wildness and wet;
Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.”
I joined and attended this hugely inspiring, richly rewarding and creatively uplifting course that started by throwing participants in at the deep end of intellectual thought. The speakers said so much in each sentence, it was hard to follow at first. As I got used to the language and into the flow of thought, it began to stir the imagination, and frame many of my interests in ecologically connected ways. This course was about the now, how we got here and where we are headed, but ultimately motivating us to work out what to do about it.
“When you’re in the woods, follow the sound. See where it leads you. Hold up your hands, cup your ear, listen.”
- Josh Schrei, Week 2.
Politically radical, topics such as the science fiction of Ursula Le Guin, and other lesser known writers, merged with how we, as creatives, can approach our surroundings in new and ancient ways, and listen to what nature wants us to create. It was an interconnected, holistic and alternative whirlwind of where science meets spirituality, and where humans connect to the natural around and inside.
The speakers were artists of different disciplines, spoken, visual and musical, intellectuals, scientists and thinkers, mythologists and storytellers, talking about their own experiences of doing things differently in their own fields, giving plenty of ideas to participants and involving them in discussions with questions at the end of each session. Sophie Strand, the host and writer, eloquently and intelligently steered the talks in thought-provoking ways.
The Forest and the EcoGothic
How and why have forests been depicted as dark, scary places for so long? This book has the answers, and shows the way to move forward…
“Robert Harrison, in his seminal work Forests: The Shadow of Civilisation (1992), mourns the widespread loss of our connection to the woods, arguing that we now see them as mere setting and resource. We have largely lost the ability, it seems, to see them as truly strange, monstrous, and enchanting.”
Elizabeth Parker, The Forest and the EcoGothic: The Deep Dark Woods in the Popular Imagination (p. 5; Palgrave MacMillan, 2021)
On my trip to photograph Sherwood Forest, due to the historical and mythical tales of Robin Hood, and also as one of the largest collections of ancient oaks in Europe, I started reading The Forest and the EcoGothic, and it had a profound effect, particularly on my vision for my final project. It seemed to be exactly what I was looking for.
In this book, which focuses on the darker, scarier side of depictions of forests, Elizabeth Parker reiterates some of the points Harrison made in Forests. Parker says that people's fascination with the romanticised concept of forests reflects their sense of loss and the significance of forests to them, and is symbolic of a variety of emotions and situations, including danger, renewal, and bewilderment. She explains the literature on forest mythologies is vast, and Gothic depictions of forests in stories may be the result of innate fears and fears created in stories. During environmental crises, Parker argues for seeking out ‘Gothic Nature’, as well as ‘Romantic Nature’, because it brings an important darkness of nature worth embracing.
When I started reading this, I had just taken some shots that would open up a new way of portraying trees to me, that fit in superbly with the Gothic and Romantic, by evoking the ‘sublime.’
“In a broader sense, The Forest and the EcoGothic significantly examines our representations of and relationship to nonhuman Nature. It does so in a time when understanding—and questioning—this relationship is more vital than ever before.”
(p. 3; Parker, 2021)
Going back to the Dark Ages
How far back does the separation from civilisation and forests go? I delved into the Dark Ages and beyond to fine out…
The Real Middle Earth by Brian Bates, The Anglo-Saxons by Marc Morris, Beowulf: A New Translation by Seamus Heaney, and Forests: The Shadow of Civilization by Robert Harrison
I read J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic trilogy of The Lord of the Rings the previous summer. At the time, I was curious about what locations near me he was influenced by in creating Middle-Earth, and thought it would be a fun landscape photography project. When I came across Brian Bates' The Real Middle Earth, it discusses the historical sources that Tolkien drew from and his ideas for his fictional natural landscapes, such as Mirkwood, Lothlorien, and Fanghorn, which were inspired by ancient forests like the great Andredesweald that were seen as sacred groves and the homes of potent spirits by the people who lived there. This led me to want to understand more about that time, so I found The Anglo-Saxons by Marc Morris.
Morris paints a brutal picture of the land that eventually became England, after the fall of the Roman Empire, and the gradual taking over of the land by Anglo-Saxon colonists, often by force. In this lawless time, the strongest and often meanest clans became local, then regional powers, eventually leading to the first kingdoms. It was around this time that the epic old English poem Beowulf was written, and is used by Morris as one of his more accurate depictions of Anglo-Saxon life, despite it also containing fictional monsters.
As a Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford, Tolkien also studied Beowulf, and I was intrigued by what this story said about nature. Although the story links the habitats of the monsters with the wild, and that they are beast-like creatures that eat people, the story itself appears more about the struggle of power, suggesting the beast within man. The linking of nature to danger and evil, suggests a Christian influence, but it may also be a reflection of the mindset of those who lived in perilous times.
“In the history of Western civilization, forests represent an outlying realm of opacity which has allowed that civilization to estrange itself, enchant itself, terrify itself, ironize itself, in short to project into the forest's shadows its secret and innermost anxieties. In this respect the loss of forests entails more than merely the loss of ecosystems.”
Forests: The Shadow of Civilization, Robert Harrison (preface; University of Chicago Press, 1992)
I’ve only scratched the surface of this book by Harrison, but it appears he was interested in something similar to what I wanted to find out, why had the forest been depicted as a scary place so many times in different cultures? Especially when my own experiences of them had been calming, even therapeutic, and places of beauty. Further discoveries in research and practice led me to deeper thought on this matter, and how it could be reframed.
Looking for inspiration: Part 2
England on Fire: A Visual Journey Through Albion’s Psychic Landscape, is a stunning piece of curation from Stephen Ellcock.
After seeing In The Black Fantastic next door, I wandered into the Haywood Gallery shop and had a browse. I spotted this book, now one of the best art books I own, and immediately it felt entirely relevant for my research and also a complete joy in its diversity and depth of content. These are just a handful of artists I found through this book, named in the captions when you view full size. They each seemed to fit the mood I wanted to go for, having long been interested in wooded scenes in moody low light. I have since followed Stephen Ellcock on Facebook, where he regularly posts evocative discoveries, and have since collected his next book, The Cosmic Dance, proving himself to be a hot curator to follow.
Looking for inspiration: Part 1
In The Black Fantastic was a stunning exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in 2022!
While I was on a short trip to London, I visited In The Black Fantastic at the Haywood Gallery, as the retelling of mythology in fantasy, and science fiction visions from the perspective of the contemporary African diaspora held strong appeal to get ideas for my own retelling of mythology, as well as to marvel at the colourful and inventive exhibits.
Enjoying many of the different takes on show, this is just a small selection of my snap happy captures, the work of Sedrick Chisom with his retelling of mythology and the legacy of racism stopped me in my tracks. And even more powerfully the art of Ellen Gallagher, colourful and stunning depictions of some of the most heart-rendering horrors of the Transatlantic slave trade intertwined with the undersea natural world.
Beasts, myths, history and art
TV and video recommendations on myths, monsters and art history.
To find out more about the history of art, depictions of nature and the origins of mythical creatures, I watched two BBC documentaries and a YouTube playlist by Crash Course.
Civilisations is a 2018 BBC documentary series that explores the history of human civilisation through art and culture. The series spans over 50,000 years, from the earliest cave paintings to contemporary art. Of particular interest to me was episode three, about depictions of nature in art. It introduced me to the work of Albrecht Altdorfer, one of the earliest landscape artists who used the shape of trees to replace religious iconography. Later in the episode, the work of pioneer landscape photography Ansel Adams is explored. The series as a whole is a fascinating insight into key moments of art history, and how they both reflected and influenced the societies they came from.
The Crash Course World Mythology series on YouTube helped to shed more light on some of the origins of different civilisations perspectives on our relationship with the natural world. The episode on creation myths seemed particularly relevant for what I was trying to find out. It examines the different approaches cultures used to depict animals and humans, and the stark differences between them, such as how Judeo-Christian origin myths place humans above animals, yet in several Native American beliefs, animals helped humans in the beginning of the world.
In Fantastic Beasts: A Natural History, Stephen Fry looks at depictions of animals in popular culture such as in fantasy, and traces them to mythology. We discover that Asian dragons are wise, benevolent serpent-like creatures, while European dragons are fearsome, fire-breathing beasts. The Aztec dragon-like god Quetzalcoatl had feathers and sharp fangs, while the rainbow serpent from Australian Aboriginal mythology had a large reptilian head and monstrous teeth. Dragons have snake-like scales, sharp teeth and strong limbs like lions, and eagle-like talons. The dragon may be a hybrid of those three animals, according to recent research.
I’d recommend all three titles to watch, with the most interesting for me being Civilisations, the passion that the presenters Simon Schama, Mary Beard and David Olusoga bring adds to the enlightening perspectives. I’d also highly recommend the Crash Course in European History on their YouTube channel for greater depth behind Western cultural movements.