Residency at FoAM Brussels 20140407 → 20140411

• notes on the luddites

• human-animal relationships (in the city and elsewhere), what do we do with animals we don’t eat? examples of wild boar in Berlin, chickens in China, horse meat in UK, wild geese (and other invasives) in Ghent

• interested in looking at changing the way that ecology is used and controlled

• the project in Ghent with TimeLab, entitled “nothing is lost”, waste as a source etc. lisa looked at human-animal relationships in the fields of linguistics, food, health and science. slightly difficult interaction with science who see the project as “a spanner in the works” and argue that popularising eating invasive species is dangerous, as the demand might encourage people to begin farming these animals and plants.

• during the Ghent project Lisa found the need to contextualise the practice wider, in order to avoid it becoming a stereotypical food movement (either a hippy-like malnourished food activism, or a glitsy hipster invasivore diet). it seems like the project might be opening doors that are already open… Lisa wants to use the project in Ghent as a test-lab or a prototype for the biotech sphere she is researching.

• Lisa is interested in fringe communities and different forms of ethnographic activism (for example “farmification” of the joystick factory), that are productive, non-violent forms of protest against the status quo (e.g. people hunting and eating invasive geese, or a cake maker using knotweed instead of rhubarb for cheese cakes). as opposed to loud clicktivism and slacktivism, this kind of activism is focused on quiet, labour intensive / productive activism, that isn’t asking for attention.

• at the same time Lisa is working with the Near Now in Nottingham to develop the activist part of the work. Nottingham is a town where both Robin Hood and Luddites originated - both activists in very different times, rebelling against the wealthy (Robin Hood against the aristocracy, Luddites against the merchant class in the early Industrial Revolution). Although Luddites’ actions were against industrial machinery, they were not opposed to using any technology (being lacemakers and artisans themselves) - they were opposed to the industrialisation of technology, oppressive systems in which mechanised looms were used in burgeoning textile factories mass producing cheaper, lower quality stuff. In order to be recognised by the powers that be, they came up with an imaginary king (Ned Ludd) and their actions were quite militant. Lisa is wondering about who are the contemporary luddites in the context of a biotechnological ®evolution in the everyday life, and what are their modes of action? They go beyond what is popularly known as the luddites of digital technology (people opting out of fb and twitter for example). It isn’t as easy to opt-out of bio-technology as it is to not use facebook. Suggestion: look at the luddite interpretations in the Dark Mountain books.

• During the microresidency Lisa would like to work on contextualising practical work in Ghent and theoretical/speculative work in Nottingham, leading towards a meme for a speculative bio-luddite movement. to do that, Lisa would like to contextualise her work in biotechnological sphere (with invasives for example) in the evolution of the luddite movement(s). At the cross-section of biology (or biotechnology) and luddite movements Lisa speculates what a bio-luddite movement would look like, and what their actions might be. As the aim of the microresidency Lisa would like to sketch-out (in text and images) a scenario for a “bio-luddite in everyday life” (possibly in the doctors’ waiting room) and come up with a series of 'bio-luddite conundrums' - questions about real and imagined situations that could be posed to (aspiring) luddites, to define the the scope and the edges of this movement.

• we had an extensive discussion about what to consider biotechnology (or technology in general). Lisa is an advocate of Kevin Kelly’s view that technology is anything that extends the human organism. Lisa mentioned invasives as an example of something that isn’t biotechnology - they are feral, not domesticated, not evolved for human use. they are things that have their own intentionality outside of the human use. we came to the conclusion that the edges of biotechnology are quite blurry, as there are many interrelated fields - is bio-sociology and critique of biotech a part of the biotechnological sphere? is there a distinction between the tools and the social sphere? Suggestion: look at tactical biopolitics

• bio-hacking: are bio-luddites a parallel parody of biohackers. even though biohackers are democratising science, in Lisa’s opinion, there isn’t enough social critique in the field (suggestion: look at the biopunk manifesto by Meredith L. Patterson)

• Bio-luddites are people who question and productively critique the use of biotechnology in the everyday. As a (speculative) movement, Lisa would like to give bioluddites a brand, or a meme, under which all the disparate movements and events might be joined. she’d like to create a momentum for a critical dialogue around biotech that should be happening… and attempting to model a new relationship with politics

• there is much talk about “not having time” to be engaged in activism. however, we spend a lot of our time waiting (in doctors’ waiting rooms, train stations, on planes…) - how can bio-luddites use these 'glitches' in time to use them productively for activist interventions?

• what would be a speculative scenario of a bio-luddite action reaching people in a doctors’ waiting room? how can bio-luddite activism be implemented in the waiting room? Lisa is interested in the people who 'consume' (or are effected by) bioluddites' works. the waiting room could be a place for recruiting - there is a bit of a bioluddite in all of us (as we cannot easily opt-out of the biotechnological sphere of influence, we necessarily have an opinion about it and a position in it)

• the first event Lisa will present at is Luddites 200 (David King is one of the founders).

• the king and the merchant class were the targets of the original luddites, they used military techniques to attract attention. what are the equivalents of militant actions today? service and experience design? what experiences would bio-luddites offer to enact different approaches to everyday biotech? the original luddite’s actions had very high stakes - what would be the equivalent today? what would be the bio-luddite’s equivalent of Occupy?

• Luddites add the dimension of morality to the technological discussion. What are the bio-luddite’s moral criteria for use of biotech? what is their dilemma?

• Suggestion: in order not to get lost in the multiplicity of research, how about starting with biotech in daily life, a specific situation (such as the waiting room) and speculate about a specific bioluddite conundrum that might be initiated or resolved there.

• co-creation of the waiting room scenario
• co-creation of bio-luddites’ conundrums
• collating research notes
• presenting work in progress as something substantial and relevant

• who are the contemporary luddites in the context of a biotechnological ®evolution in the everyday life (bio-luddites), and what are their modes of action?

• what is the role of bio-luddites in the everyday life, and in the biotechnology sphere?

• what are the edges of biotechnology in the broadest sense of the word (i.e. what is NOT biotechnology, or where does the technology stop)?

• where is the locus of control in the biotechnological sphere?

• is bio-sociology and critique of biotech a part of the biotechnological sphere?

• how can bio-luddites use the 'glitches' in time, while we’re waiting, to use them productively for activist interventions? how can waiting times be used for bio-luddites (would it be doing things with friends and family)?

• what would be a speculative scenario of a bio-luddite action reaching people in a doctors’ waiting room?

• how does biotechnology become socialised?

• should we socialise activism and biotech and if yes, how?

• what would be examples of issues/technologies that luddites could respond to?

• what questions do you want to ask the people at Luddites 200?

• what are the equivalents of militant actions today? service and experience design?

• what experiences would bio-luddites offer to enact different approaches to everyday biotech?

• what are the appropriate technologies for bioluddites? what are the bio-luddite’s moral criteria to use biotechnology?

• what would be in the bio-luddite manifesto? what is the bio-luddite’s dilemma?

• what is the ethical continuity along the biotechnological supply chain?

• what are the bioluddites’ conundrums? their unanswerable questions that incite discussion?

Session II planned for afternoon of Tuesday 20140408. Before that, there are a few things to do:

• Lisa: excerpts from the visual research in China, Ghent, Berlin… to visualise what are possible bio-luddite conundrums, and how they are interrelated.

• FoAM: continue feeding the background research notes and think about answers to research questions