C o n t e n t s Introduction
Initial Research
Kayak & Paddle
Clothing
Tools
Cultural Objects
National Geographic Article
H u n t e r - G a t h e r e r i n
T
t h e
A n t h r o p o c e n e
his body of work presents a speculative narrative of a
hunter-gatherer living within a ‘world of the anthropocene’. Here the anthropocene is explored both in materiality and as a theoretical reality. The hunter gatherer is a character acutely attuned to the materials and resources available in their surroundings developing highly specialised skills and techniques for survival. The objects developed are responses to the unique threats posed by the ‘world of the anthropocene’. The projects address three disconnects that characterise this epoch: - an abundance of waste materials that exist outside of natural ecosystems; - the loss of practical resourcefulness caused by over-dependency on technology; - homogenised archaeologies and loss of cultural narratives caused by the global standardisation of our material world. To explore these, five projects have been developed providing critical, experimental and speculative insights into evolving human relationships with the natural environment. These are: kayak, clothing, tools, cultural objects and an anthropological narrative.
T h e
D
A n t h r o p o c e n e
efines Earth’s most current geological time period as being
human - influenced, or anthropogenic, based on overwhelming global evidence that atmospheric, geologic, hydric, biospheric and other Earth system processes are now altered by humans.
H u n t e r - G a t h e r e r
A
member of a nomadic people who live chiefly by hunting,
fishing and harvesting wild food. All of human kind used to be hunter - gatherers.
T h e A r t e f a c t s Kayak & Paddle The Kayak is an investigation into creating a physical ‘research vehicle’. Ancient methods of kayak construction native to Greenland communities such as the inuit were used to inform the construction. Contemporary materials that have specific qualities were identified and processing techniques were developed.
Clothing The clothing and gathering bag explore how synthetic materials can take on a skin like quality. They investigate the relevance of skin within the history of human craft, the unique qualities of natural materials and the decisions that go into choosing a material for a task.
Tools The tools examine the potential of creating bespoke artefacts designed for working with specific materials within the Anthropocene. This allows for effective material processing and the development of new making techniques. Within this section, the role of tools within farming, foraging and hunting are analysed.
Cultural Objects This investigation looks at the objects that create cultural identity. These items are less directly related to survival, instead responding to and interacting with the world and what that might look like in the era of the Anthropocene.
Nat Geo Article The content and framework of relevant National Geographic articles are examined. The techniques observed are then employed to construct an anthropological article around the character of the ‘Hunter-Gatherer in the Anthropocene. This is intended to help frame the project as a whole, giving it a context at the place where Design and Social Anthropology merge.
I n i t i a l R e s e a r c h “F
aced with an ecological crisis whose roots lie in this
disengagement, in the separation of human agency and social responsibility from the sphere of our direct involvement with the non-human environment, it surely behoves us to reverse this order of priority. I began with the point that while both humans and animals have histories of their mutual relations, only humans narrate such histories. But to construct a narrative, one must already dwell in the world and, in the dwelling, enter into relationships with its constituents, both human and non-human. I am suggesting that we rewrite the history of human-animal relations, taking this condition of active engagement, of being-in-the-world, as our starting point. We might speak of it as a history of human concern with animals, insofar as this notion conveys a caring, attentive regard, a 'being with'. And I am suggesting that those of us who are 'with' animals in their day-to-day lives, most notably hunters and herdsmen, can offer us some of the best possible indications of how we might proceed.” - Tim Ingold, The Perception of the Environment: Essays on Livelihood, Dwelling and Skill.
Initial areas of interest focused on the environmental impact of creating a society with a consumer culture that is increasingly disconnected from nature.
R e - w i l d i n g & R e - e n g a g i n g G
eorge Monbiont is a zoologist, author, Journalist for the
Guardian and massive advocate for rewilding. I stumbled across his ted talk on the subject a while back and was thrilled to find an articulate academic who not only shared my tendency to plan escapes but voiced frustrations about the way we live and our disconnection to the natural world. Monbiont explores rewilding through the reintroduction of native animals and plants, highlighting the ancient skeletons of tigers and rhinos found where Trafalgar square now lies. He also looks at ‘rewilding' human lifestyles. From both a personal and a design perspective, it was this area that really caught my attention.
‘It is no longer rare to meet adults who have never swum except in a swimming pool, never slept except in a building, never run a mile or climbed a mountain, have never been stung by a bee or a wasp, broken a bone or needed stitches. Without a visceral knowledge of what it is to be hurt and healed, exhausted and resolute, freezing and ecstatic, we lose our reference points. We are separated from the world by a layer of glass. Climate change, distant wars, the erosion of democracy, the resurgence of fascism – in our temperature-controlled enclosures, all can be reduced to abstractions.’ http://www.monbiot.com/2017/03/02/screened-out/
R e - f r a m i n g
I
Tow path:
canal water:
51°32'09.8"N
51°32'14.5"N
0°09'30.0"W
0°04'58.7"W
nitial investigations in city locations such as the London
canal system, car parks and derelict sites were conducted. These urban wildernesses provide opportunities for reengaging with nature through interventions. Having traversed the Regents canal on foot from Limehouse to just east of Regents Park, photographing and taking notes, rough sketches of scenarios were made. These sketches investigate territories, boundaries, material mapping and ways of travelling through, and seeing spaces.
By using a simple device that focuses the eye on specific areas, there is the potential to change an individuals perception of an environment. This reframing device plays with the possibility of creating the illusion of wilderness or a ‘micro wilderness’ - even in intensely urban environments.
Regents canal: London
https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/B
U
rban environments are abundant with materials and
resources, yet we don’t engage with or utilise them. We except that car parking spaces are for cars and cars alone, yet the space is simply rented for an allotted time. A car parking ticket doesn’t stipulate that the space must be used to park a car in, so what else could it be used for? We see an empty milk bottle or crisp packet and are predisposed to see waste, despite their versatile material properties. How do you challenge the mind-set that leads to these illusions? How do you reintroduce resourcefulness into society starting with the individual? A different pair of eyes are needed. Eyes that belong to a race that is adaptable and has, for thousands of years been refining the skills and developing the knowledge needed to see the Anthropocene for all the potential it has. These eyes belong to our ancestors, they belong to us. With the excitement of industrialisation, globalisation and technology, we forgot to use them. Maybe it’s time to channel our inner hunter-gatherers and start reengaging with our planet.
National Geographic
K a y a k
&
P a d d l e
Stills from film: Nanook of the Nort
I
n areas of the world where wood is scarce such as the
arctic, boats and smaller hunting vehicles such as canoes and kayaks were (and in some cases still are) constructed using a driftwood or bone frame with animal skins stretched over them. This example of material resourcefulness is the starting point for the Anthropocene kayak. Research around the kayak and paddle led to an exploration into the significance of skin and it’s importance in the history of crafting items such as clothes and boats. Nowadays with so many synthetic ‘skins’ available, can the relevance of skin be translated and still have value in the Anthropocene. This research continues with more historical context during the development of the clothing within this project. In an era where thousands of species are endangered and habits threatened by climate change, urbanisation, plastic waste, deforestation and mining, what are the animals of the Anthropocene, where would one find them? How would one hunt them? What would their skins look like and how might we use them? Within the world of food production, farming has become factories and we find ourselves at a moment in time where meat can be grown in labs. Perhaps the animals of the Anthropocene aren’t living and breathing animals in the traditional sense, but the multitudinous creatures that populate urban areas. They are the by-products of consumerism, flocking in factory waste units, coffee shops and recycling bins. Can these animals be hunted and their skins used to produce a kayak in the same way an Inuit might hunt a seal? What can we learn from these animals and can knowledge passed down through generations still be utilised and reimagined to create the techniques necessary to process the materials?
h
1 0 0 % U
u s e f u l
seful is a mind-set. A methodology. Within much of the
western world, this has been replaced by an existence of 24/7 consumerism. When a hunter-gatherer made a kill, every piece of the body had a use. Knowledge and skill are required to dissect the animal and understand the potential of each part. With much of our food grown, breed and prepared on a massive scale, out of sight, delivered in bite sized chunks, waste is invitable. However some still live with this ethos. This will be a theme of all the artefacts created for this body of work, where possible, every part of the ‘animal’ or material will be used.
National Geographic
Book:Hunting with Eskimos by Henery witney
A n i m a l s o f
t h e
A n t h r o p o c e n Herd of Milk Bottles:
e
Excerpt from ‘Arctic clothing’ Edited by J.C.H King, Birgit Pauksztat and Robert
The milk bottles
The bodies
in their natural environment
The skins ready for
The hide following
processing
heat pressing
<
F
irst successful example of joining skins by process of
heat pressing. Joins are strong and water tight. Potential problems could arise from buckling due to reheating multiple times as more skins are added. The images below show polar bear and seal skin being stretched in Alaska. Despite the synthetic nature of the milk bottle hide, the semi transparent quality and shape caused by the individual milk bottle skins results in a remarkably natural ‘skin’ like quality.
National Geographic
E
xploring the visual qualities of the skin by applying some
Inuit style joining techniques using found plastic fishing twine and coppice wood. These were aesthetically successful however puncturing holes in the surface of the skin could prove counter productive in kayak construction. The material is not as forgiving as sealskin, therefore the waterproof stich used by Inuits in kayak making is hard to replicate.
In order to be able to process materials and produce at the scale necessary to build a kayak it is necessary to study the pray, understand it’s habits, learn the territories of the most viable animals and establish hunting grounds.
Brighton. U.K. Map of hunting territory
Small Batch Cafe
Small Batch Cafe Real Patisserie
‘I’m looking for specific qualities in my milk bottle catch. Nordic coffee attracts bottles with paper labels, significantly slowing down the skinning possess, Real Patisserie, thin skinned bottles – low quality and the shape of the body makes it hard to get a good hide. Small Batch – thick skinned, easily removable label, good body shape and a busy hunting ground ensuring a good catch, they produce the perfect hide for kayak making!’ Excerpt from National Geographical Article ‘Hunter Gather in the Anthropocene’
S c a l i n g S k i n
U p
P r o d u c
t i o n
H
aving done multiple tests with varying thicknesses and
layers of skins, two layers proved optimal. It was sturdy, but thin enough to be pliable and responded well to being scored with a knife and bent.
W
ork began on calculating how many skins would be
needed, how the kayak might fit together, what the frame would be made from. It was decided that the skin would be constructed by making three large sheets, which would be joined together at the end. Following experimentations with paper an origami style folding technique was discovered to create the kayak ends.
T h e Research:
Oru kayak
Pitt Rivers Museum
F r a m e
Prototyping:
W
hile mocking up frame prototypes the challenge of creating
a structurally sound kayak, whilst keeping to the hunter gatherer guidelines became apparent. The first model looked CNC cut. While aesthetically this isn’t necessarily problem, the plywood required is at odds with the project ethos - it was not be a waste material accessible locally to the huntergatherer. It also began to look like a product prototype, which needed to be avoided, as this project is not about suggesting a future where all kayaks are made from milk bottles! Referencing more traditional forms of frame making proved more successful. An abundance of sycamore saplings that were being coppiced in local woodlands could provide a study frame. Sycamore is a solid choice off wood as it grows like a weed in the UK, and in this circumstance was a readily available material going to waste.
Construction:
M
aking in green wood
is a challenge. It requires trial and error to build the knowledge and understanding required to find the ‘sweet point’ where material thickness, flexibility and strength meet.
T h e B
P a d d l e
y creating a two-part hand carved wood the plan was to
place it in the oven with the plastic in it forming a solid paddle blade. However after testing became apparent that putting wood in the oven could cause the wood to distort or worse still - catch fire. Instead the plastic was heated on a Teflon sheet and then cast into half of the mold and put under the press. Intial tests were done with recycled HDPE tubs (the same plastic as milk bottles.)
T esting brought attention to challenges with being able to
heat the chippings enough to bond together. The individual
chippings were still visible in the samples, this affects the structure and in turn the strength of the paddle. Tests with left over pieces from the milk bottles that couldn’t be used in the kayak skin (the lid rims and handles) proved much more successful, producing strong, solid paddle blades. With the repetitive casting process the wood mold was repeatedly in contact with hot plastic. Areas of wood started to come break off with the removal of each paddle blade, this tended to discolour the plastic but was fixable by cleaning the surface up with a blade.
O
nce the paddle blades were cast the too parts needed to be
fused. Experimentation revealed that it was possible to seal the two parts using a strip of milk bottle plastic and ‘soldering’ the paddle together using the soldering iron. Coppice wood was a natural choice for the handle as it would be in keeping with the kayak frame. Both heat shrinking and binding were considered as a way of fixing the blades to the paddle shaft, but wooden pegs offered a solid option that mirrored the peg feature already seen in the kayak frame.
C l o t h i n g
...
Excerpt from Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez
Skins and furs were once part of a living and breathing animal, this gives it remarkable qualities and requires specific knowledge around the preparation and working of the material. Unlike the homogeneous fabrics that can be created by todays machinery, the qualities of skins are unique and demand respect. Many companies producing outdoor/adventure clothing attempt to mimic the versatile qualities of natural animal skins. An Inuit parker made from intestines for example: the intestine is biologically designed to let specific molecules pass though its wall, so the animal can filter the nutrients and water out of it’s food. When the intestine is cut out of the body it doesn’t loose these properties, so the coat is made out of a material that is both waterproof and breathable by ecological design. There are modern technologies out there such as gortex that try to achieve these qualities. A quest for the ultimate synthetic skin. Clothing for a hunter - gather in the Anthropocene needs to be kayak worthy - waterproof and flexible enough to move about in. This requires hunting down materials with specific qualities.
Test in thin fabric
T
he flour bag offers a lightweight material that is warm to
the touch, fairly tough, and doesn’t restrict movement. Though not naturally waterproof it can be waxed which is done using wax and applying heat. This material is easy to sew and perfect for making trousers as it moves easily with the body. Visually the waxed material resembles oilskin and the way it creases and ages means that despite being manmade, its qualities echo that of natural animal skin.
Stiching tests
Buttons from milk bottle lids and coppice wood
T
he coffee bag skin was chosen for the jacket as it is
durable, waterproof and retains heat, it is slightly less flexible than the flour bags but more resilient. It can also be joined using heat meaning the creation of watertight seams is possible.
Attempt at puffer jacket material too bulky
Jacket body -Work in progress
G a t h e r i n g B a g A
bag or vessel to carry foraged materials in assists a life
on the move. Creating a hard wearing waterproof ‘shell’ would protect the knives and sharper objects that it might carry better than fabric or a soft woven material.
E
xperimenting with egg trays resulted in a durable,
lightweight material that could be waxed to make it waterproof. It is possible to make a binder by adding water to the flour that is left in the flour bags used to make the trousers. By varying the quantities, consistency and egg tray colours a ‘dough’ is formed. This is then dried out around a form to create a hard shell.
T
he bag was finished with a waxed flour bag top, a strap
made from inner bicycle tubing and electrical wiring for the stitching.
Tools
T
hese are Danish arrowheads displayed in Moesgaard Museum in
Aarhus. The skill and accuracy needed to create such a weapon is astonishing, these tools were vital to survival once. Each blade or arrowhead designed for a specific purpose, to pierce, or scrape or cut. The specificity of purpose defining the forms and design process is key to consider when making the tools of the Anthropocene. Below is a mono print study playing with the variety of arrowhead forms.
S
National Geographic
Stills from short film taken by author at Moesgaard Museum, Aarhus
T h e
U l u
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/01/arctic-maps-climate-change/
Excerpt from ‘Arctic Dreams’ by Barry Lopez.
A
mong the Inuit communities they still use the Ulu knife, it
has a single blade and while not designed for a specific purpose it is designed for arctic life and all the distinct tasks that that entails. While they vary in design and material, the principle stays the same: a rounded blade with a handle at the top. It fits snug in the hand and is passed down through generations of women.
http://www.britishmuseum.org
National Geographic image
polar research institute, Cambridge
Milk Bottle Knife T
hrough experimentation the development of techniques using
varying Anthropogenic materials, it became clear that everyday tools weren’t effective for such niche tasks. Scissors and scalpels used on milk bottles in any volume caused hand cramp and could be awkward to handle or control. A bespoke tool was needed that would allow processing milk bottles to happen with ease. So the milk bottle knife was created, with a blade formed from a piece of scrap steel and handle made from the ‘bones’ of the milk bottle - the lid rims and handles. This proved an effective way to create a ‘synthetic bone’. The metal pins were replaced with recycled plastic ones in red: a reoccurring colour within the project.
Draw Knife T
he wooden frame of the kayak required the bark to be
stripped off of all the saplings; these were then shaped before bent to form. Striping bark requires a drawknife. The woodland where the sycamore was sourced is located on the outskirts of Brighton, from a piece of land that had been used as a dumping ground for motorbikes and other small vehicles for years. This provided a harvesting opportunity, while the majority of the bike bodies were totally rusted; the break plates seemed to have stayed relatively rust free. The circular shape provided a perfect blade for a drawknife.
A handle was
constructed from a piece of forked coppice - milk bottle handle for a milk bottle knife, wood handle for a wood knife. The handle was then wrapped in inner tubing from a bike tyre, adding grip and reducing rubbing on the palm of the hand during use.
T
he ancient tools observed previously such as flint knives
and arrow heads are relics of a ‘hands on’ lifestyle, of physicality, of interaction, many of them are significant to providing and preparing food. Farming dramatically changed the tools needed and the scale increased, the more the tools grew into machines and the part that human hands played in the process became remote. As an area of research I decided to see if I could get ‘hands on’ with my food again and experiencing how tools aid this process. I helped slaughter two pigs, went fishing and visited a dairy farm. During the slaughtering/ butchering process it was interesting to observe how the skins were removed in relation to the skinning of the milk bottles. Naturally the process was entirely different - as you might expect - however the tools and hand movements were very similar, swift actions, and a steady hand.
Tools involved: knives, saws
B u t c h e r i n g
F i s h i n g
T
he future of fishing in the Anthropocene:
‘100 MILLION plastic bottles are thrown away every day, By 2050, our oceans will have more plastic trash than fish.’ https://secure.avaaz.org/page/en/
Tools involved: fishing rods, hooks,knives, scissors
M i l k i n g
I
traced the milk supplier from the cafe where the bottles
used in the project are collected to see the milk bottles in the ‘natural habitat’ and gain insight into the milking process. The farm was a family run business with just 80 cows, so very different to farms that supply supermarkets. The farmer commented on the effect of increasing veganism and dairy alternatives on the dairy market. After investigating these industries from a ‘tool and food’ based perspective, it seemed relevant to look into the ‘waste products’ of these industries. Did they have potential from a material perspective?
Tools involved: sponges, thermometer, rubber gloves
B
one seemed a natural material to research as a by-product
of the meat industry, it has a history of use within tool making, often forming handels or needles. Samples of the pig bone were simmered, freeing it of any meat to see if it could be used as a material within the Anthropocene tools or even kayak parts. Further testing could have resulted in success however the choice of bone would need to have been considered.
During simmering the bone lost colour and was
not hard or thick enough to carve.
B o n e
M
ilk in the Anthropocene
‘Scientists have calculated that the 360,000 tonnes of waste milk that is poured down British drains each year creates greenhouse gases equivalent to 100,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, which is about the same as that emitted in a year by 20,000 cars.’ http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/drink-your-milk-wasteis-equal-to-gas-emissions-from-20000-cars-7743521.html
Despite producing a range of successful casein samples, the material wasn‘t so durable and there wasn’t a clear use for it within the project so they weren’t developed into objects.
M i l k
C u l t u r a l O b j e c t s
C
ultural objects might not have an obvious practical function
but they are vastly significant in both creating and responding to a community’s cultural identity. Objects made by members of the Inuit use local materials and they often mimic the wildlife and forms that were observed around them. This became the framework for the cultural objects of the Anthropocene. Milk bottles and flour bags were used to create playful objects that were unrefined, designed not to be a replica of an animal, but capture the essence - child like - think cave paintings. It is interesting to note the impact that these objects have as a storytelling tool and really creating this ‘World of the Anthropocene’. While the other artefacts that make up this project have an obvious ‘use’, these material animals begin to suggest how these hunter-gatherers might view and interpret their world. Archaeological artefacts help us build an image of our ancestors, what their lives, routines and rituals might have been like.
C
ave paintings are traditionally drawn by either
scratching into the surface of rock or using local pigments. What would the equivalent be in the Anthropocene? Having produced the artefacts of this from the waste of everyday urban environments such as cafe’s, it seemed natural to stick to the theme. Testing resulted in the discovery that used coffee granules can be boiled down with water and vinegar to produce a thick liquid: an affective ink.
A
s the Anthropocene refers to an era that will, as with
previous epochs - be visible in the earths geology, it is necessary to consider the geology of the Anthropocene within this project. What will the earth’s and rock look like, how will it be utilised and mined in the future? With the tarmac and concrete of our roads running in lines, dividing landscapes like seams of a precious rock. It is interesting to consider it’s ‘minability’ as a valuable material, set into jewellery, polished and treasured. Worn by our successors with the same pride as gold, silver and diamond.
N a t i o n a l G e o g r a p h i c N
ational Geographic is a world-renowned publication that
shares stories and sheds light on different communities, cultures and experiences around the world. By reading and dissecting numerous articles it is possible to mimic the format. Setting the project in the context of a hypothetical Nat Geo article enables the audience to view this project as a case study. We can hold up a magnifying glass to a speculative community, whose identity, rituals and behaviours are based on our common hunter-gatherer ancestors, with a modern twist. This project falls at the intersection of design and Social Anthropology, using a fictional character to discuss the significant issues of our times and what in means to be human in the 21st centaury.
Hunter - Gatherer in the
Anthropocene
In recognition of our present geological period, where, for the first time in human history we’ve become the prime influence upon the way our climate behaves, National Geographic commissioned Anthropologists around the globe to report how people are adapting to the startling challenges we face. The reality in this new era is that they are now under increasing pressure and as their natural habitats undergo dramatic change, their long term survival is in the balance more than ever.
On the hunt for milk bottles at Small Batch Cafe
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NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
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In Britain there is an emerging community that follows the low-impact lifestyle of traditional Hunter Gatherers, whose wisdom enabled them to survive in the most extreme environments. These new resilient communities live by the key principles of those nomadic Hunter Gatherers. It is their traditional skills, continuity of culture and strong community commitment that informs their underlying ethos. ’
Anthropologist Mark lowe, headed to the seaside town of Brighton to document an encounter with an individual from one of these evolving communities of the Hunter Gatherers in the Anthropocene. ~ Brighton, is not the first place that springs to mind when conjuring up the image of a ‘hunter - gatherer’. It’s a densely populated, urban environment, worlds away from the rainforests or arctic deserts where small communities exist in close proximity to the natural world that sustains them. These hybrid hunter gathers have evolved to thrive within the city context, having formed a unique relationship with the consumers they share the environment with. Despite the narrow, urban confines of the Brighton Lanes ZJ is easily spotted. It is early evening on an overcast Saturday, yet her Gatherer attire is striking, beads of moisture collecting on the surface of her metallic waterproof jacket. It’s hard to believe the entire outfit is comprised of coffee and flour bags. She has invited me along on a hunt, it’s clear by the string of milk bottles hanging over one shoulder that it’s already begun. After a brief greeting we head to ‘Small Batch’ - a coffee shop to you or I but regular hunting ground to hunter - gatherer. ZJ explains that she or another of her family will come here most days between 5 - 6.00pm. ‘The milk bottles have gathered in considerable numbers by this time of day offering a prime catch. Arrive late and they’ve migrated to a recycling centre leaving you empty-handed.’ Entering the cafe ZJ could almost pass as your average customer, aside from the rustle of her waxed flour-bag trousers. The Baristas greet her with a smile, they seem to know
Milk bottles are threaded onto a rubber rope constructed from repurposed inner bicycle. This makes transportation easier.
her order as they might any regular customer and one disappears into the back, returning moments later with a bag bulging with empty milk bottles. ‘Thats a pretty good catch, Saturdays are always good’ she tells me as we pull the bags aside. On an average day she’d expect to ‘pull in’ between 20 – 25 bottles, pushing 30 on Saturdays. ‘Folk are out and about at weekends, the cafe is busier, more coffee consumed means a larger ‘catch’ of bottles’. As she chats she unclips the rubber strap slung over one shoulder and threads it through bottle handles. Once secured, todays catch is hoisted over her shoulder and the plastic bags returned over the counter for tomorrows catch. Looking like massive beads on an oversized necklace, I notice the curious looks as we move on and she calls out a
HUNTER-GATHERER IN THE ANTHROPOCENE
2
On the hunt
satisfied ‘Thanks!’ Hunting milk bottles in this way is clearly an unusual sight to your average city dweller. In general these hunter-gatherers prefer living on the periphery of mainstream activity. Hunting at ‘Small Batch’ means venturing into the city centre at the busiest time, I enquire as to this choice of hunting-ground. Holding up a bottle she states ‘I’m looking for specific qualities in my bottle catch so timing is of the essence, not a matter of choice. Bottles from ‘Nordic Coffee’ on the London Road, come with paper labels, prolonging the ‘skinning’ possess. Those from ‘Real Patisserie’ in Kemp Town, are ‘thinskinned’, poorer quality and the body profile makes it hard to achieve a 3
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
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satisfactory ‘hide’. ‘Small Batch’ are thick skinned with easily detached labels, good body shape, and being a busy ‘watering hole’ equates to a good catch – the perfect hide for kayak making.’ As we walk ZJ’s eye rarely strays from green recycling boxes and bins lining the pavements. Knowing we were heading for her camp which is currently based in Hollingdean I notice the route we take seems a little ‘round and about’ and enquire tentatively. She chuckles - ’it’s Hanovers recycling day tomorrow!’ As it’s evening, the boxes are full to bursting with bottles, cans and other items. To the untrained eye its trash awaiting disposal,
Baker St Bike shop
Real Patisserie
- Inner tubes
- Coffee bags
with the wear and tear. When the new kayaks are finished we’ll be moving on from Brighton, so it’ll be good to have a new load of gathering bags for the journey.’ Once we reach the temporary set up that is ‘home’ she throws the egg boxes straight into a pan of water. They will soak there for a few hours before being pulped. The excess water is squeezed out and heated with a small amount of flour, this forms a binder, the remaining material is re-added and kneaded before being shaped around a simple mould and baked. The result is an incredibly hard biodegradable shell that can be easily waterproofed with wax.
- Flour bags Small Batch Cafe - Milk bottles Moulsecoomb Woods Sycamore Saplings
The hunting grounds and territories of the hunter-gatherers in the Anthropocene
yet each offers its own unique potential for experimentation within a new context. It soon transpires that she knows the recycling schedule for each of Brighton’s ‘regions’, this defines her territory and her daily migration will alter accordingly. She occasionally picks up an item tucking it into a container that rests on her hip - it’s a gathering bag of sorts, a hard ‘shell’ forms the bottom and upper section of a material that matches her trousers. As it starts to fill up I notice egg boxes seem to be the order of the day. She explains that these are the material that make up the hard body of the gathering bag, ‘although the material is sturdy, these bags are carried around every day so they naturally they weaken
‘100% useful’ is a key ethos to these hunter gatherers. When hunting or foraging takes place every part of the the catch is utilised. In the case of these milk bottles, judging by the number of cafes or ‘hunting grounds’ in Brighton alone, the resource seems endless. Yet these hunter-gatherers treat each one as a precious resource, every scrap is used. The body of the bottle forms the skin for the kayak, the lid, lid rim and handle are melted down into to form paddles or tool handles. For the majority of us locking into 24/7 consumption and wading though discarded packaging, ‘100% useful’ is a foreign concept. The care, value and respect that these hunter-gathers hold for their few possessions - objects created from consumer waste streams - is evident. As I watch her work I enquire as to the choice of vehicle, why Kayaks and to what purpose? ZJ explains how ‘in an urban environment we’re in a strangely unique position. Hunting grounds and material territories are readily identified, so abundant in fact that, unlike our
HUNTER-GATHERER IN THE ANTHROPOCENE
4
Squeezing excess liquid out of egg box pulp Stiching the gathering bag shell together using recycled electrical wire
Processing milk bottles with the milk bottle knife.
Polishing the blade of a draw knife made from a motorbike brake plate.
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predecessors, we don’t need to spend the majority of our time hunting to survive. Our kayaks aren’t vessels for hunting food as is the case for the Inuit, but for research. In a way ours are more akin to a figure of speech. We use them to explore, hunt for alternative solutions to the way we lead our lives in a consumerist culture.’ Kayaks are highly versatile, light enough to be carried by an individual and in the current scenario of global warming they will accommodate rising sea levels and thus provide a means to access fresh hunting grounds. Hunter gatherers are acutely attuned to the materials and resources available in their surroundings - developing highly specialised skills and techniques for survival. The objects that they create are artifacts that characterise threats and disconnects of the anthropocene. They
highlight the abundance of waste materials that exist outside of natural ecosystems. While many of us suffer from a loss of practical resourcefulness caused by over-dependency on technology, these hunter gatherers are developing methods and skills around contempoary waste streams. Across the globe we are experiencing a loss of cultural narratives and homogenised archeologies as a result of the global standardisation of our material world .It is clear that what sets these individuals apart from consumers and binds them to other hunter gatherer communities across the globe is their mindset. While the future for the majority of us is not milk bottle kayaks and coffee bag waterproofs, their mindset is one of resourcefulness and ingenuity, both of which are crucial to creating a sustainable future in the Anthropocene
Milk bottle kayak lit from the inside at night
HUNTER-GATHERER IN THE ANTHROPOCENE
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NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
MAY 2018
Image on the left: Making the kayak frame from green wood sycamore saplings in Moulsecoomb woods
Kayak on the Canal
HUNTER-GATHERER IN THE ANTHROPOCENE
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