Fieldnote #17: In which we look at biodesign through love, beauty and play
Biophilia is a keyword in biodesign. Many practitioners identify as a biophiliac.
The term describes an affinity for the natural world. Philia is a Greek word that describes a friendly type of love (it is the opposite of phobia).
Biophilia stirs a poetic imagination.
As one biodesigner explained: ‘a tree doesn’t simply produce oxygen. Rather, many leaves work quickly and deeply to give us oxygen.’
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Biodesigners collaborate with nature.
And authentic collaborations involve love. Love as a process.
Here we can consult the poet bell hooks who describes a practice of love as: ‘action rather than a feeling’.
hooks calls for a ‘shared definition’ and a ‘supple vocabulary’ of love. ‘Definitions are vital starting points for the imagination’, they explain. We ‘choose to love’.
hooks gives us their definition of love by remembering their relationship with their grandfather: ‘a combination of care, commitment, trust, knowledge, responsibility, and respect’.
The practice of biodesign gives us a regenerative vocabulary for collaboration.
As one biodesigner explains: ‘the mycelium network of fungus helps us understand the entanglement of life’.
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If love, then what of beauty?
Biodesign connects to BioArt, which we might define as the processing of biological science through the lens of aesthetic appreciation.
BioArt invites us to consider a posthuman beauty.
As one biodesigner explains: ‘some birds seem to have favourite colours. They scavenge discarded bits of plastic of a similar colour when building their nests.’
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A biodesign aesthetic is solarpunk.
Solarpunk takes us away from cyberpunk.
Away from the dark, dystopian, gritty, urban world of high tech gadgets, oppressive governments, corporate dominance and societal decay. Towards a bright, optimistic and hopeful world of sustainable, renewable and balanced coexistence with the environment.
Solarpunk is a realm where soft and decentralised technology blends seamlessly with green spaces, lush vegetation, algae, test tubes, and communal spaces.
As one biodesigner explains: ‘ an early biodesign was by an indigenous community in India. They needed to build a bridge, so they set down a structure using poles and let roots grow across.’
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Love, beauty and also play.
A playful mindset is essential because biodesign insists on change.
Habits, mindsets and ideologies need to transform for our planet to thrive.
A 180-degree turn is required.
But change evokes fear.
So, a biodesigner inhabits a science lab as if it were a playground. Mixing science with creativity.
And here is the question: how might we design joyful experiences so that the biodesign toolkit spreads across the world and integrates with other disciplines? And how might we use branding and marketing to promote them?
Perhaps we can return to love. Another Greek word for love is ludic. This describes a playful love. A flirty love.
To use a new term, how might we cultivate a bioludic mindset?
