Tracing the Mountains: Reflexões gráficas no contexto da Crítica Infraestrutural e crise climática

Abstract

This article discusses the relationship between infrastructures, the climate crisis, and extractivist practices through artistic research in the project “From the Top of the Mountains We Can See Invisible Monuments” (i2ADS - Institute for Research in Art, Design, and Society). The works “GRAMMAR” and “The Observers’ Plateaus” are presented to speculatively, retrospectively, and guidedly explore concepts analysed through a reflective methodology (Anke Haarmann) that aligns with Infrastructural Critique, aiming to visualise how infrastructures shape artistic and cultural practices (Marina Vishmidt). By analysing the political, economic, and scientific echelons that sustain infrastructures, the article argues that artistic practice can expose the tensions between technological development and the resilience of social movements. In the context of practice-based artistic research, the metaphor of the “negative mountain” suggests the “inversion” of extractive ecosystems, proposing new perspectives on how to live and inhabit landscapes. The article also addresses the topic of the production of space and the uncertainties of the current period, highlighting, for example, the recent decision by the International Union of Geological Sciences to reject the Anthropocene as a new geological epoch. Thus, the article seeks to contribute to the debate on environmental justice, emphasising the need to recognise epistemological diversity in discussions about the climate crisis, capitalism, and colonialism. This essay presents the manifestations of an investigative process that values artistic practice as a way to tackle the impasses of a period marked by the convergence of economic, climate, and social crises, as well as the rhetorical forms of power structures and significant decisions.