Hello everyone and welcome
My name is Amanda, I’m an artist, designer, and concerned individual
Today, I’d like to take you on a journey I call Breathing in disaster: meditation in the anthropocene
This journey explores our relationship to the air, and how our bodies and creations participate in the shared history held in the atmosphere of our earth
I’d like everyone to take a moment to get comfortable
If you’re standing, find a seated position where you can relax
And take the weight off your tired feet
Allow them to rest now on the ground
Rotate your shoulders in circles
Now close your eyes
Take a moment to focus on your breath
Allow yourself to center on the action of taking air into your body
Breathe in through your nose
And out through your mouth
Feel the air fill your lungs, and listen to the sounds you make
Feel the oxygen circulating through your body
With every breath it nourishes your heart, your muscles, your brain
You breathe in 23000 times per day, isn’t that amazing?
Breathe in
Breathe out
The air you are breathing is the same that all of us are breathing
Humans, animals, trees, cars,
It’s ancient, and holds the history of life on this planet
A history your body is sharing now
With each inhale you take in 21% oxygen 79% nitrogen and trace amounts of other gases
With each exhale you put out carbon dioxide, water vapor
Warm breath
In the beginning the the earth was so warm
Hydrogen and helium came from our infant planet
Those tiny atoms were so excited they escaped that the pull of the earth and drifted into the void of space
Our atmosphere was born as an exchange between the earth and the sky
4.5 billion years ago before life here was even a twinkle in the stars
The earth started breathing through massive volcanic eruptions
Sending carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
Just like you
Each earth-shaking eruption let out more gases into our atmosphere
Gases which were previously hidden deep in the crust of the earth
Burst out
Ammonia, methane, water vapor, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide
Shooting into the sky in great dusty clouds
A great exhale from the earth
This exchange still happens today
But we are rarely prepared
in 2010 the great volcano Eyjafjallajökull erupted
Filling the sky, the atmosphere, our breathable air once again with ash
Ammonia, methane, water vapor, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide
Our bodies crave oxygen, we find the rest toxic
Breathe in
Breathe out
After the volcanos calmed and the earth cooled
Water vapors from the atmosphere settled and became our oceans
Cool, wet, calm, trapping carbon dioxide in their depths
At this moment is where we first find traces of life
Microscopic algae and bacteria created a process called photosynthesis
They transformed the excess carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen
The oxygen you are breathing in now
Tiny photosynthetic bodies grew into larger ones
As more complex flora developed over millenia
Building the atmosphere is an ongoing collaborative effort
Started by the earth
And cultivated by algae, bacteria, fungi, fauna, flora
And yes, even you
Our bodies aren’t the only way we participate in these atmospheric exchanges
Our creations, innovations, technology also share the air we breathe
We dig up ancient creatures
And bring them back to life in order to power our technology
We burn them sending billows of toxic smoke into the sky
It dissipates into the atmosphere
Air knows no borders
It’s not subject to geopolitical frontiers as we are
Air doesn’t need a passport to cross a continent
Yet it sees everything, collects everything
Burning forests to make way for livestock
The trees we set aflame are the same ones who are responsible for capturing carbon in the first place
For making room for oxygen in the air
Instead of forests now we have great fields of domesticated animals
Hand picked by us for their flavor
They exhale too, the same as us, carbon dioxide, but sometimes methane too
Now the forests are releasing carbon
The animals are releasing carbon
We are releasing carbon
I want you to reflect on this for a moment
What happens if this perfectly balanced ratio of 21% oxygen 79% nitrogen shifts?
What happens next?
With each inhale I want you to thank the earth
Thank the volcanoes, the oceans, the algae,
For their part
Thank yourself, because you participated too
NowI want you to thank your body
Thank your lungs for pulling in oxygen
Thank your heart for pushing it through your veins
Thank your muscles for using it to carry you to where you are today
Lastly, thank the air for being breathable, for now
I want you to keep breathing
In count to five
Out count to five
And slowly start to wiggle your toes
And then your fingers
Rotate your shoulders in circles
Loosen them
When you’re ready slowly open your eyes
And take one last deep breath
Thank you
(First performed on July 1st 2022).
Amanda Lewis
Amanda Lewis is an artist and designer from Saint Louis, Missouri and currently based in Paris, France.
She is currently a master’s student at ENSCI Les Ateliers in Paris studying Nature Inspired Design. She also works as the coordinator for Parsons Paris’ Galerie D.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art, Media, and Technology at Parsons Paris in 2018, where she developed her thesis project on the investigation of air pollution in natural spaces using open-source sensing technology and sonification techniques.
In her work, she examines the intersection of environments and digital technologies through research and artistic practices. Her goal is to discover a tangible and accessible way to comment on, augment, or improve our relationship with nature through technology.
Amanda’s work
Contact Amanda
The Low Carbon Design Institute 