Following on from Renewal, which touched on the possibilities of a kind of generative rebooting of society post-pandemic and the daunting yet thrilling act of starting anew, Adaptation seeks to refocus attention on issues around climate change and the unfolding ecological catastrophe we are faced with. After centuries of abuse of the planet and the belief in an uncompromising dominion over nature in the name of industrial ‘progress’, it is us who must now learn to adapt and live with nature in order not to render the fragile niche in which our species exists untenable. Taking up the dramaturgical connotations of the term, Adaptation could be read as a call to re-evaluate our relationship with other species and non-human actors who now assume leading roles, taking centre stage in the speculative narrative of a post-anthropocentric future.
Delivered in three Acts, featuring:
Act One. Helen Charman and Hannah Buckman
Helen Charman is a writer and academic based in Glasgow. Her first book, Mother State is forthcoming from Allen Lane. Her pamphlet Daddy Poem was shortlisted for the 2019 Ivan Juritz Prize; her latest, In the Pleasure Dairy, was published by Sad Press in 2020.
Hannah Buckman is an artist and illustrator living in London. Some of her recent clients include Google Design, The New York Times and Harper’s Magazine. When not taking on commissions Hannah continues to develop her own drawing practice.
Act Two. Daisy Hildyard and Laure Prouvost
Daisy Hildyard’s most recent book, The Second Body (2017), is an essay on the Anthropocene and human experience. A new novel, Emergency, is due in 2022. She lives in the north of England.
Laure Prouvost (b.1867, Lieumeconu, France) Lives and works. Here a long list of museums and institutions. A line, interesting things, a coma, a line, a list of residencies and prizes. A selection of solo projects including: an elastic arm hold in tight in Copenhagen, a Swallowing and Breathing in Eindhoven, a Smoking Mother in Copenhagen, a Melting Into Another in Lisbon, an Occupied Paradise in Aalst, Deep See Blue Surrounding You in Venice, Toulouse and Lille; a Waiting Room with objects in Minneapolis, a New Museum for Grand dad in Milano, a tearoom for grand ma in Derry, a karaoke room in Brussels, a new octopus ink vodka bar for Gregor in Rotterdam, A travel agency for an Uncle in Frankfurt, a lobby for love among the artists in the Hague and Luzern... tea bags, and wet floors and tentaculees.
Act Three. Edward Doegar & Shakeeb Abu Hamdan
Edward Doegar is a poet and editor based in London. He is a consulting editor at The Rialto and was the commissioning editor of the Poetry Translation Centre between 2018 and 2021. His pamphlet For Now was published by clinic in 2017.
Shakeeb Abu Hamdan is an artist and musician living in Beirut. He uses systems of found images and texts alongside his own writing and drawing to examine the strange ways that historical narrative is constructed. His book A Life Like Mine, That’s Impossible was published by Samandal Comics in 2021.
Published January–April 2022
