Metabolic Sublimes
This study group and its surrounding body of research focused on an expansive definition of metabolism as a conceptual means to reconcile vast and microscopic systems, cultivating a critical solidarity with the world around us. The study group was bolstered by ongoing writing and pedagogical work on the topic.
The group discussed processes of metabolism — from digestion to decomposition to regeneration. Metabolism is the way by which humans interpret and represent systems of relations, exchanges, and the things produced by those systems, referring to metabolism in all senses: biological, energetic systems of bodies, landscapes, and ecologies of all scales. By recognizing the sublime in the supermarket or the kitchen, we can begin to understand ourselves as both metabolic systems and units in other flows. The metabolic understanding of the world is sublime, finding comfort the destabilization of our constructed identities as discrete individuals.
The structure of the study group was one of collective study: combining reading, screening, writing, cooking, and discussion. In each session, participants encountered and interpreted materials (texts, artworks, recipes, films) through the lens of metabolics.
