Interchantment

Inter

Enchanting

In (Latin) --> Into
Terra (Latin) --> Earth

Into earth --> Between, among

In (Latin) --> Into
Cantare (Latin) --> Sing

--> Enchanter --> Enchant
"To put under a spell"

Interchanting is based on the idea of Weber's disentchantment, or the devaluation of religion in modern society.

Disenchantment in this case is closely linked to the emergence of the anthropocene, or the age of man, where humanity takes a superior stance over nature.

Reenchantment would be to once again bring this sense of enchantment back, whereas through fairy tales or myths. Humankind would find respect for nature.

Interchanting however takes this notion slightly further. Unlike reenchantment, in which the human is still the centre (the human is "en"chanted, which is passive), interchantment focuses on the relationship between human and non-human creatures, between the "living" and the "inert." There is no big division between earth (the cthonic, as phrased by Haraway, or perhaps the dirt in which the human "grovels") or the heavens (the for which the human longs, which it wishes to colonise and ascend to become god-like). Interchantment aims for a mutual relationship between earth and human through a sense of awe and gratefulness, wherein Gaia both gives and takes.

Methods of Interchantment

Education

As assistant of the artist Dennis Happé I have been giving workshops about recycling plastic locally. We visit primary schools with machines designed by Dave Hakkens and educate the children about plastic waste, climate change, plastic soup and recycling. We have visited about 20 different schools by now and work together with the children to create awareness of the culture around plastic.

For the continuation of this project Dennis has asked me to come up with some ideas for workshops relating to plastic. I think this could be a great way to try and put the idea of interchantment in action.

I have already found some remarkable things in the attitudes of the children (ranging from age 4 to 12)
- The way the youngest children see the plastic as more than waste. They play amidst the plastic, admire it, play with it. They create entire worlds.
- The playfulness of recycling. The children do not consider cleaning up or dividing the plastic as a chore, but rather as a game.
- The awareness of the devastating effects of plastic. The way they are saddened by animals being affected.
- The awe of the life-time of plastic. When I do a little quiz with the children I ask them which lives longer: A rubber boot or fishing thread. I don't give the right answer right away, I start with saying "a rubber boot takes about 75 years to decompose" after which the children who chose the rubber boot as answer start cheering, assuming their victory. When I tell them the fishing thread takes a 1,000,000 years to decompose, I am met with cries of disbelief and awe.

The Interchantment Workshop (WIP)

Toys

Local holidays

Possible "Carriers" of Interchantment
- Story tellers
- Workshops
- Toys
- Holidays

apparently my idea already existed:

It defies to be defined.