Nature's Striking Omnipotence and Resistance
Indeed, ecocritical thought defies epistemological dualism and normative Enlightenment ideals for an interconnected vision, which recognises the co-entanglement of culture and nature. Agreeably, it is profusely invigorating to see how nature continues to resist anthropocentric dominance and repression by asserting its rather ‘unsettling’ presence. From an anthropocentric lens, this image is confronting, depicting the powerlessness and limitations of human capacity to act out against nature. Despite many attempts to control and undermine nature, nature arises once again to remind us of its omnipotence and quash human hubris.
The Anthropocene is a by-product of human capitalism and industrialisation, emblematic of a newly transformed world void of ecological cohesiveness. However, just how the industrial transformation was forced upon the natural world, the image depicts nature’s own force and emerging presence in redesigning the structure of the building. Ultimately, this acutely echoes Jane Bennett’s theory Vital Materialism, which signifies nature’s agency and independence as a living being. The image of the man-made building wrapped in vines represents nature’s departure from its passive role and reclaimed bodily autonomy.
The image captures, quite literally, the entanglement of culture and nature and the intersectionality of their relationship. Therefore, it is important to step out of this peripheral and highly marginal gaze to negotiate a space for nature in the foreground of the ecological sphere. Through a de-peripheral lens, nature presents itself as an intelligible force with capacity to act and extend its influence onto other modes of being. As such, nature does not await to be acted upon, nature is not an accessory nor an additional element to human life. In reversing the traditional perception of reason and logic, we move closer to ‘noumena’ in perceiving nature as the medium for culture and for which human knowledge is constructed.
Sarah Laanani (z5260338)