Assemblages

 

«Assemblages are open-ended gatherings. They allow us to ask about communal effects without assuming them. They show us potential histories in the making. (…) Assemblages don’t just gather lifeways; they make them. Thinking through assemblages urges us to ask: How do gatherings sometimes become “happenings,” that is, greater than the sum of their parts? If history without progress is indeterminate and multidimensional, might assemblages show us it’s possibilities?» Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing (2017). The Mushroom at the End of the World: on the Possibility of Life in capitalist Ruins. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

December

"Humans, pines, and fungi make living arrangements simultaneously for themselves and for others: multispecies worlds."  Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing (2017). The Mushroom at the End of the World: on the Possibility of Life in capitalist Ruins. 

 

20220103 note: pinus pinaster and pinus pinea descriptions in European Atlas of Forest Tree Species (2016): https://ies-ows.jrc.ec.europa.eu/efdac/download/Atlas/pdf/Pinus_pinaster.pdf; https://ies-ows.jrc.ec.europa.eu/efdac/download/Atlas/pdf/Pinus_pinea.pdf .

December

"Patterns of unintentional coordination develop in assemblages. To notice such patterns means watching the interplay of temporal rhythms and scales in the divergent lifeways that gather. (...) This turns out to be a method that might revitalize political economies inside them, and not just for humans. Assemblages cannot hide from capital and the state; they are sites for watching how political economy works." Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing (2017). The Mushroom at the End of the World: on the Possibility of Life in capitalist Ruins. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

December

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

December

"Don't let the beauty of life escape you." Let Nature be "the temple that is. Marvel at the fact that any of this exists - that you exist." Ryan Holiday (2019). Stillness is the Key. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

December

Phenology: "the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as habitat factors (such as elevation). (...) Examples include the date of emergence of leaves and flowers (...), the date of leaf colouring and fall in deciduous trees (...). In the scientific literature on ecology, the term is used more generally to indicate the time frame for any seasonal biological phenomena, including the dates of last appearance (e.g., the seasonal phenology of a species may be from April through September). (...) In addition to providing a longer historical baseline than instrumental measurements, phenological observations provide high temporal resolution of ongoing changes related to global warming." 

 

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

 

20220105: text was changed from book citation to definition of «phenology», maintaining the photo showing a tree, displaying all 4 seasons at time of capture (December, Cacem, Portugal), with nude parts, white flowers, green leafs, fruits and yellow and red leafs in other parts of the same tree.

December

“Failure is instrumental in success. We need to fail to learn. It’s only through exploring and figuring out the territory, that the fog starts to clear.” Douglas McMaster, owner of Silo restaurant, thoughts about the need to change existing views, implementing zero-waste designed systems, from farm to fork (and beyond), changing paradigms and inspiring future ethical behaviours. in «A Failure of Imagination», directed by Matt Hopkins. 

Photo of tapestry (76 x 92 cm) by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).

December

"Make what you can of what you have been given. Live what can be lived. That's what excellence is." Ryan Holiday (2019) Stillness is the Key. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA ( CC ).