Unlearning Ownership.
DIY Manual for Prosthetic Sculptures and Undisciplined Growth. 2025.
Developed following an invitation from the Serra da Estrela Geopark to the Manteigas school community, within the project O Meu Geossítio (My Geosite), this manual begins by questioning the very idea of ownership implied in the programme's title. Who owns a mountain, a river, or the lives that inhabit them?
The publication challenges the logic of natural reserves as isolated territories of protection, questioning the separation between places considered worthy of care and those left outside their boundaries. It also examines the colonial and anthropocentric assumptions embedded in certain approaches to conservation, particularly the classification of species as native, exotic or invasive. Without denying that organisms can cause harm, the text questions the selective hostility towards other forms of life and the human authority to decide which species belong.
Alongside these reflections, the manual provides instructions for constructing a prosthetic sculpture that uses passive solar evaporation and condensation to maintain humid conditions for spontaneous plant growth. Rather than restoring an imagined original purity or selecting which species may inhabit a place, the sculpture proposes an act of hospitality beyond human boundaries. It is conceived as a refuge, not a customs checkpoint.
Grounded in the principles of non-harm and copyleft, the manual approaches art as a possibility for relations between different worlds, where nonhuman beings are not merely subjects of representation or conservation, but potential publics and participants in the work.
Research and funding acknowledgement
The research informing this publication was developed with the support of Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. (FCT), under doctoral fellowship 2024.02417.BD.
Nuno Vicente
info@nuno-vicente.com
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