Terminal landscapes

Q&A

• 1. How do you practice your profession?

  My work is actually pretty practical and empirical. I often go into the field, because there are always physical places where I can collect tangible data and evidence for my research. I also collaborate a lot with other researchers and artists. I co-directed the FieldARTS residency in Amsterdam in 2022, for example. Charles Rouleau, the sound artist, was part of this as well. Researchers and artists were challenged to develop their thinking and writing in the material and historical specificity of ‘the field’

• 2. What are you currently working on?

  Recently I was invited for a residency in Luxembourg by the European Commission. Together with 10 researchers we created a cartography (map) of critical raw materials. The project seeked to map and secure supply chains of various rare materials and elements that are crucial for the energy transition and a prosperous and sustainable Europe. Like lithium. How the supply chains are connected on a global level is still quite unknown, that’s why the mapping research was necessary. Hopefully we will be able to exhibit a real tangible map of it in the future as well.

• 3. What do you think is most important in the energy transition?

  Democracy. That people can join in on the conversation. Preferably very locally and collectively. That way normal people like you and me keep control of our own energy consumption and costs. Otherwise, at some point, people will revolt. Think of the yellow vests demonstrations in France. In response to the increase in fuel duty, people took to the streets en masse. The energy transition affects us all, at different levels: at home, at work, in public spaces. To avoid conflict, we must ensure that everyone can help decide and can benefit.

• 4. What is the most exciting debate in your field right now?

  The philosophical debate about freedom. Nobody wants to restrict their own freedom. But the energy transition demands a new relationship to freedom. It will be restrained in certain ways. And we will have to redefine it. For example, who or what has the legal right to freedom to pollute and emit CO2, and on what basis? That is a fundamental question that will continue to be discussed now and in the time to come. Within the university, but certainly also in the real world.