Pulvis et umbra sumus. We are but dust and shadow. –Horace

Dust and Shadow is FoAM's contribution to a transdisciplinary research and residency programme at the ASU (Arizona State University) focused on environmental issues specific to the North-American Southwest. We combine philosophical inquiry with experiential futures and technological arts to explore existing and potential relationships between people and the desert. We hypothesise that in order to mitigate the effects of climate change (and other environmental uncertainties) fundamental lifestyle adaptations are needed. Changing light-bulbs or driving electric cars can be a start, but technological fixes alone can't tackle the complex systemic challenges in the region. The substrata that give rise to prevalent worldviews must be re-examined too, the myths and counter-myths underlying current and emerging lifestyles. By addressing the mythical underpinnings of contemporary life in the desert, we invite emotional engagement with abstract concepts, such as desertification, panpsychism or attunement. We design participatory experiences and experimental publications, as evocative propositions for re-alignment of urban and desert ecosystems.

In collaboration with The Global Institute of Sustainability (GIOS), Laboratory of Critical Technics (LCT) and the Synthesis Lab of the Arizona State University (ASU).

• fragments https://d-u-s-t-and-shadow.tumblr.com
• photos https://www.flickr.com/photos/foam/sets/72157681429258454
• FoAM activity page: https://fo.am/dust-and-shadow/

How all of this might unfold (TBC and subject to change without notice)

• Spring 2017 (may/june): fieldtrip 1, observations, questions, travelogue, etc.
  
• Summer 2017 (july/august): articulating research questions, literature research, mapping, etc.
  
• Fall 2017 (november/december): fieldtrip 2, FoAM presentation/talk at LCT & Synthesis, experimental workshop, formulating experiments for experiments, planning publications
  
• Spring 2018: prototyping and experiments (first iteration): thalient lab, D&S walk, reader 1, equinox eve prototype, editorial design for the book
  
• Summer & Fall 2018: design seasonal feast, reader 2 and book
• Spring 2019: Public experiment (seasonal feast?) & book launch
  
• + continuous online documentation