General Ecology: The Story of the Understory of the Understory

Serpentine Podcast

What are earth, land, soil, ground and dirt? Join us in that place which is simultaneously ground, land, soil and Earth, that is to say, where diverse species come together, collaborate, communicate and constitute one another but also where complex systems of redistribution of toxicity, logics of extraction and geopolitics meet.

This episode is a collaboration between Future Ecologies and Serpentine Podcast, developed in response to Serpentine’s General Ecology event, The Understory of the Understory, which brought together practitioners from many disciplines to consider the ground beneath our feet across ecologies, politics and spiritualities.

Invited to respond to the interventions presented over two days in December 2020, Future Ecologies have “composted” The Understory into a choral, poetic essay.

Day 1: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLrFzV6gBibe24y5EIg2vSQVRg9Ia2Hdr

Day 2: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLrFzV6gBibejZdlR6fIdLP1rdB0xiZWK

General Ecology is the Serpentine’s long-term, cross-organisational, multi-disciplinary and cross-media project dedicated to embedding ecological principles and commitments throughout the Galleries’ programmes, networks and infrastructure.

Future Ecologies is a podcast about relationships: between, within, amongst, and all around us. Made for audiophiles and nature lovers alike, every episode is an invitation to see the world in a new light – set to original music & immersive soundscapes, and weaving together interviews with expert knowledge holders.

Hosts: Mendel Skulski and Adam Huggins

Produced by: Future Ecologies

Sound credits: Thanks to all participants of the event for their contributions and to Cat Can Do, Scott Gailey, Hotspring, Yu Su, Barren House, Kanahuaxtli, You’re Me, Hidden Sky, Greenplant, YaYa Bones, and Sunfish Moon Light for sounds throughout the episode.

The Shape of a Circle in the Mind of a Fish is curated by Lucia Pietroiusti (Curator, General Ecology, Serpentine Galleries) Filipa Ramos, writer, animal whisperer with Kostas Stasinopoulos (Assistant Curator, Live Programmes, Serpentine Galleries). Produced by Holly Shuttleworth (Producer, Serpentine Galleries) and Visual Identity by Giles Round.