The borderless wild boar

Artists Carl Johan Erikson and Karin Willén give a presentation, followed by a discussion with Lisa Babette Diedrich (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) and Gini Lee (University of Melbourne), and questions from participants. William Kutz will be moderating the seminar. The webinar is free of charge.

• Link to webinar: lu-se.zoom.us/j/67125131916

For participants to prepare for the seminar, the artists ask you to watch Wild boar sausage from Forsmark, 2021 (9:30 min), below:

Description

The title of our presentation is The Borderless Wild Boar, also the title of a body of work we have exhibit at several art venues in Sweden 2023 and 2022. This exhibition is the frame for our presentation. 

The wild boar moves in the borderland between the wild and the tame, between nature and culture. It is an adaptable animal, not averse to establishing itself in urban environments. In humans’ approach to and the idea of the wild boar, mental limits are exceeded - from being an appreciated animal to hunt to a “borderless” pest affecting farmers and private gardens and thus fought against with unconventional hunting methods. The cooking of wild boar meat (wild boar sausage) and explorations of or excursions on a 72 km long wild boar fence on the border of Denmark and Germany, are the starting points for the show The Borderless Wild Boar, aiming at an inherent critique on civilization through a story about existing as humans today, in an ecosystem on the brink of collapse.

Presenters

The artists' Carl Johan Erikson and Karin Willén began their collaboration in 2014 focusing on an existential story revolving around food and about being human in a collapsing ecosystem. Examples on results from previous artistic collaborations include, amongst others, the cookbooks: 10°C - Recept från Forsmarks skärgård (2016) (“10°C - Recipes from the Archipelagos of Forsmark”) and Kokgropar och andra aktiviteter i Forsmarks skogar (2019) (Cooking Pits and Other Activities in the Forests of Forsmark) published by Jon Brunberg Förlag. In a subversive manner, the artists are here applying the format of the cookbook to problematize Western civilization’s view on nature. In conjunction with book presentations, the artists have conducted “cooking actions” where they serve, for example, herring caught near the warm cooling water outlet from Forsmark’s nuclear power plant. To serve a potentially contaminated ingredient, and thereby provide an embodied integrated presentation of existential questions connected to nuclear power and climate, lies at the core of these “cooking actions”.

Technical info

Make sure your version of Zoom is updated before the meeting, that you have a good internet connection, and preferably a headset if you plan to raise any questions or comments during the discussion. Beside above link, you can join the seminar by calling in, please write to Mia Krokstäde at mia [dot] krokstade [at] cors [dot] lu [dot] se (mia[dot]krokstade[at]cors[dot]lu[dot]se) for information about dial-up numbers.

About the series

This is the fifth seminar of the series Dwelling, elsewhere: Comparative-methodological perspectives on borderland inhabitation, arranged by William Kutz and the Borderland Working Group. For more information about the Borderland Working Group or to join the mailing list, please write to William Kutz at william [dot] kutz [at] cors [dot] lu [dot] se (william[dot]kutz[at]cors[dot]lu[dot]se).