nana francisca schottländer

During working residencies in the Zu'surfuru mine in Fluminimaggiore (Sardinia) and in Cava di San Mauro quarry (Lona-Lases, North Italy), I explored how the relationships between humans, mountains extraction and civilisation have shaped the bodies of both landscapes and humans over time. Through dialogues with the workers of the mines and the quarries and through researching the material, social and economic implications of the extracting industries, I developed a series of participatory performative explorations of intimate, curious and caring encounters between human bodies and mineral bodies revolving around acts of acknowledging the material and existential effects of extraction and offering acts of care through reciprocal exchanges. The journeys were both meditative, physically challenging and full of reflections as they put into question how we as humans relate to, shape and are shaped by our surroundings.