guest:
Nicolás Jaar and the Shock Forest Group
‘These livelihoods make worlds too – and they show us how to look around rather than ahead.’
Chapter 2WO
Chapter 2WO Public Programme
Shock Forest Group (2019) is an international research team consisting of architects, cartographers, linguists, coders, urban planners, sound makers, biologists, designers and engineers. It is an experiment in open research, where the research categories surface as the research develops. It is also an experiment in alternative education, a classroom without a teacher, where learning emerges as a product of polyphony.
These livelihoods make worlds too – and they show us how to look around rather than aheadAnna Tsing
Sjoerd Smit (NL, 1991) teaches Biology at Joke Smit College, a secondary school for adults in Amsterdam. He gained a master’s in Green Life Sciences, a snazzy name for plant molecular biology, at the University of Amsterdam. He then did an EerstDeKlas traineeship to become a secondary school biology teacher. His area of expertise is molecular biology and biotechnology, focusing on plants and how individual plants deal with soil pollution in the surroundings. “What I particularly like about Het HEM is the location: its symbolism and how changes become visible over time.” About the the Shock Forest Group he says: “I’m curious how we can shape this, what will transpire when we combine everyone’s ideas and how Nicolás will provide a new dimension through his musical knowledge and experience.”