Unit 2: Positions through triangulating 1 – Week 1

In the upcoming work, I intend to undertake a more specific and profound exploration, drawing from my personal experience as an asthma sufferer deeply affected by air pollution. My aim is to raise awareness among the public about asthma sufferers, leading to a more serious understanding of the climate crisis and behavioral changes.

The climate crisis is a health crisis, and the quality of every breath we take depends on our daily lifestyles. As we breathe, so does our home – the planet. Building on my previous research and practice, I want to reflect on asthma, an incurable condition that is prone to recurrence and can be fatal. It demands our attention and prevention efforts. Therefore, maintaining the health of our respiratory system is paramount, and the ability to breathe normally has become my utmost concern and aspiration.

As humans increasingly pollute and disrupt nature, the very oxygen on which we depend for survival is becoming scarcer. The ecological crisis will ultimately become a crisis for human existence. Therefore, I aim to explore the close connection between the human lungs and the Earth‘s lungs (forests) by depicting the sensations of constriction, tension, and suffocation experienced during an asthma attack.

How do feelings encourage engagement?

On October 4th, there is an online introduction to UAL’s Climate Emergency Network, which will provide us with an opportunity to engage in climate action. I would like to attend this event to listen and contemplate how artists are responding to climate and ecological emergencies.

These are some of my experiments, folding paper into the shape of lungs and incorporating various elements to depict the abstract, concrete, and genuine sensations experienced by asthma sufferers during an asthma attack.

Feedback & References

It‘s because they tracked something, so they detect the biomarker related to that specific disease. If the bees remain unperturbed, you can breathe easy…

Susana Soares