Welcome to the web component of Deke Weaver's project, The Unreliable Bestiary - stories from our precarious moment in natural history. To learn about the project, read below or watch this fifteen minute TEDx talk.
* * * * *
THE UNRELIABLE BESTIARY: A DESCRIPTION
Inspired by the literary concept of the unreliable narrator and the medieval bestiary, which gave every living thing a spiritual purpose, The Unreliable Bestiary will be an ark of stories about animals, our relationships with them, and the worlds they inhabit. In addition to a set of books and a website, the project will present a performance for each letter of the alphabet – the letter representing a particular animal or habitat. Or idea.
A is for Ark:
At the intersection of science fiction, doomsday prophecies and real science, the DNA Ark is attempting to collect the DNA of every organism on the planet - useful in the event of the extinction of a species or the extinction of a planet.
B is for Bear:
Polar Bears lie at the edge of open channels of water. When a beluga whale swims past, the bear punches the whale in the head, knocks it out, and lifts the whale out of the water onto the ice.
C is for Continent:
Passenger Pigeons blackened the sky. Oceanic herds of bison blanketed the Plains. Now a continent of plastic twice the size of Texas swirls in the Northern Pacific – a dead zone mirroring the South Pacific Doldrums where the 19th century whaleship Essex was destroyed by an angry white whale.
If the natural world is a text - The Bestiary – the narration of its tale is unreliable. Metaphors connect the deeply felt personal story with broader “ways of life.” We are beginning to realize that we have to change how we live. By 2050 climate change and our exploding population will push half the species on the planet into extinction. The lions and tigers and bears of our ancient stories will be long gone. Central to our myths, embedded in our language, rooted in our imaginations - what will we do when our dreams disappear?
* * * * *
SITE SPECIFIC PERFORMANCES, BOOKS and WEBSITE
Some of the performances will be created for traditional theaters, while others will take place in specific sites such as living rooms, circus tents, or national park amphitheaters. Beyond the live performances, the books and website will document and transform the multiple performances, compiling stories and images. The gradual accumulation of individual volumes will form an encyclopedic, collectible, illustrated bestiary, giving physical structure to the whole project. The books will be produced and distributed at various levels, from hand-made editions of artist-books to collaborating with a professional press. The website will evolve with the project, adapting to new technologies and social networks.
* * * * *
HOPE
Many scientists are frustrated by their inability to tell the story of our current crises. A narrative/performative investigation of contemporary environmental crises, The Unreliable Bestiary will compellingly reveal the connections between science, behavioral observations, economics, politics, spirituality, myth, and imagination. The project will turn people on instead of shutting them down with fear, charming audiences into realizing the complexity and urgency of our situation. The Unreliable Bestiary will use humor, poetics, and plain old wonder to inspire people to live differently.