Artist Interview: Maite Pastor Blanco
We sit down with ecology-focused artist Maite Pastor Blanco to discuss her work, background and artistic aims.
May 13, 2022

Rewilding the mind, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

Could you tell us about your academic and professional background?

I have a scientific background but I’ve always been very visual - my parents are deaf, so my brain is used to translating ideas into signs and gestures. Also, during high school I went to California on a study exchange and the only school available was an Art & Performing high school. Then, I did a BSc in Zoology in Scotland, and I was really fascinated by the folklore of the place, which reminded me of the Basque Country. 

Something changed when I went to Brazil to study bats. One day we had to gather a rare species of bat and kill it so the taxonomist could analyse it and something broke into me; I felt a profound sense of disagreement and since then I took a very radical change and I stopped handling wildlife.

Still from soundscape performance at the Allenheads Contemporary Art "Nature of Place" residency

What is the link between arts and science for you? How are they linked in your career/ artistic practice?

The episode with the bat really made me hope that there was another way of doing conservation. I started looking into humans as animals and created immersive experiments with people. I have been very interested in humans’ perception of colours, and I applied to a MA at Central Saint Martins in Art & Science and researched a lot about colour psychology, Kandinsky and Klee. 

I think visual art is a great way to present scientific results, and I study art because I want to translate science into a form of communication that is innate in humans. People are not connecting enough with scientific information because it is too technical, so we need creativity to save the world.

It's raining inside, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

What are the issues related to sustainability that you most want to tackle?

I am currently working on a project where I am exploring the definition of two words from the language of Ecology: "Umwelt" and "Ecological Niches”. These ideas connect to the two issues I want to tackle: biodiversity loss and the need for a collective emotional intelligence. 

Umwelt means “the world as it is perceived by a particular organism”, this word speaks about inclusivity and the relevance of every species. In fact, so many different kinds of intelligence exist, and we, as humans, think we are superior. We often do not realise how intrusive our intelligence is; for sure, even the natural world kills for hunger, and I think there is a dark beauty in nature, but we are extremely unbalanced in the way we make use of natural resources. 

Ecological Niches refers to spaces of interaction between one or more entities; I have been working on a workshop where participants respond to soundscapes reproducing sounds of nature with mark-making, drawings and body language. The goal is allowing people to leave the context of society and express the way they feel and re-establish a contact with nature. We don’t often let ourselves listen to the sounds of nature, they are there, but we just do not pay attention. With this workshop I want to exercise people’s mind to create a connection with nature within themselves and to empathise.  

This research will result in a Manifesto called “My Intimate Niche”, a socio-political statement including photography, poems and documentation, to improve education with creativity by considering the deep ecological movement and the need for collective emotional intelligence.

Anna D'Eugenio
13/05/2022
Artist Interview
Anna D'Eugenio
Artist Interview: Maite Pastor Blanco
Written by
Anna D'Eugenio
Date Published
13/05/2022
Maite Pastor Blanco
Environmental Art
Activism
Interview
Science
We sit down with ecology-focused artist Maite Pastor Blanco to discuss her work, background and artistic aims.
Rewilding the mind, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

Could you tell us about your academic and professional background?

I have a scientific background but I’ve always been very visual - my parents are deaf, so my brain is used to translating ideas into signs and gestures. Also, during high school I went to California on a study exchange and the only school available was an Art & Performing high school. Then, I did a BSc in Zoology in Scotland, and I was really fascinated by the folklore of the place, which reminded me of the Basque Country. 

Something changed when I went to Brazil to study bats. One day we had to gather a rare species of bat and kill it so the taxonomist could analyse it and something broke into me; I felt a profound sense of disagreement and since then I took a very radical change and I stopped handling wildlife.

Still from soundscape performance at the Allenheads Contemporary Art "Nature of Place" residency

What is the link between arts and science for you? How are they linked in your career/ artistic practice?

The episode with the bat really made me hope that there was another way of doing conservation. I started looking into humans as animals and created immersive experiments with people. I have been very interested in humans’ perception of colours, and I applied to a MA at Central Saint Martins in Art & Science and researched a lot about colour psychology, Kandinsky and Klee. 

I think visual art is a great way to present scientific results, and I study art because I want to translate science into a form of communication that is innate in humans. People are not connecting enough with scientific information because it is too technical, so we need creativity to save the world.

It's raining inside, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

What are the issues related to sustainability that you most want to tackle?

I am currently working on a project where I am exploring the definition of two words from the language of Ecology: "Umwelt" and "Ecological Niches”. These ideas connect to the two issues I want to tackle: biodiversity loss and the need for a collective emotional intelligence. 

Umwelt means “the world as it is perceived by a particular organism”, this word speaks about inclusivity and the relevance of every species. In fact, so many different kinds of intelligence exist, and we, as humans, think we are superior. We often do not realise how intrusive our intelligence is; for sure, even the natural world kills for hunger, and I think there is a dark beauty in nature, but we are extremely unbalanced in the way we make use of natural resources. 

Ecological Niches refers to spaces of interaction between one or more entities; I have been working on a workshop where participants respond to soundscapes reproducing sounds of nature with mark-making, drawings and body language. The goal is allowing people to leave the context of society and express the way they feel and re-establish a contact with nature. We don’t often let ourselves listen to the sounds of nature, they are there, but we just do not pay attention. With this workshop I want to exercise people’s mind to create a connection with nature within themselves and to empathise.  

This research will result in a Manifesto called “My Intimate Niche”, a socio-political statement including photography, poems and documentation, to improve education with creativity by considering the deep ecological movement and the need for collective emotional intelligence.

Thanks for reading
Collect your 5 yamos below
REDEEM YAMOS
Artist Interview: Maite Pastor Blanco
Artist Interview
Anna D'Eugenio
Written by
Anna D'Eugenio
Date Published
13/05/2022
Maite Pastor Blanco
Environmental Art
Activism
Interview
Science
We sit down with ecology-focused artist Maite Pastor Blanco to discuss her work, background and artistic aims.
Rewilding the mind, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

Could you tell us about your academic and professional background?

I have a scientific background but I’ve always been very visual - my parents are deaf, so my brain is used to translating ideas into signs and gestures. Also, during high school I went to California on a study exchange and the only school available was an Art & Performing high school. Then, I did a BSc in Zoology in Scotland, and I was really fascinated by the folklore of the place, which reminded me of the Basque Country. 

Something changed when I went to Brazil to study bats. One day we had to gather a rare species of bat and kill it so the taxonomist could analyse it and something broke into me; I felt a profound sense of disagreement and since then I took a very radical change and I stopped handling wildlife.

Still from soundscape performance at the Allenheads Contemporary Art "Nature of Place" residency

What is the link between arts and science for you? How are they linked in your career/ artistic practice?

The episode with the bat really made me hope that there was another way of doing conservation. I started looking into humans as animals and created immersive experiments with people. I have been very interested in humans’ perception of colours, and I applied to a MA at Central Saint Martins in Art & Science and researched a lot about colour psychology, Kandinsky and Klee. 

I think visual art is a great way to present scientific results, and I study art because I want to translate science into a form of communication that is innate in humans. People are not connecting enough with scientific information because it is too technical, so we need creativity to save the world.

It's raining inside, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

What are the issues related to sustainability that you most want to tackle?

I am currently working on a project where I am exploring the definition of two words from the language of Ecology: "Umwelt" and "Ecological Niches”. These ideas connect to the two issues I want to tackle: biodiversity loss and the need for a collective emotional intelligence. 

Umwelt means “the world as it is perceived by a particular organism”, this word speaks about inclusivity and the relevance of every species. In fact, so many different kinds of intelligence exist, and we, as humans, think we are superior. We often do not realise how intrusive our intelligence is; for sure, even the natural world kills for hunger, and I think there is a dark beauty in nature, but we are extremely unbalanced in the way we make use of natural resources. 

Ecological Niches refers to spaces of interaction between one or more entities; I have been working on a workshop where participants respond to soundscapes reproducing sounds of nature with mark-making, drawings and body language. The goal is allowing people to leave the context of society and express the way they feel and re-establish a contact with nature. We don’t often let ourselves listen to the sounds of nature, they are there, but we just do not pay attention. With this workshop I want to exercise people’s mind to create a connection with nature within themselves and to empathise.  

This research will result in a Manifesto called “My Intimate Niche”, a socio-political statement including photography, poems and documentation, to improve education with creativity by considering the deep ecological movement and the need for collective emotional intelligence.

Thanks for reading
Collect your 5 yamos below
REDEEM YAMOS
13/05/2022
Artist Interview
Anna D'Eugenio
Artist Interview: Maite Pastor Blanco
Written by
Anna D'Eugenio
Date Published
13/05/2022
Maite Pastor Blanco
Environmental Art
Activism
Interview
Science
We sit down with ecology-focused artist Maite Pastor Blanco to discuss her work, background and artistic aims.
Rewilding the mind, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

Could you tell us about your academic and professional background?

I have a scientific background but I’ve always been very visual - my parents are deaf, so my brain is used to translating ideas into signs and gestures. Also, during high school I went to California on a study exchange and the only school available was an Art & Performing high school. Then, I did a BSc in Zoology in Scotland, and I was really fascinated by the folklore of the place, which reminded me of the Basque Country. 

Something changed when I went to Brazil to study bats. One day we had to gather a rare species of bat and kill it so the taxonomist could analyse it and something broke into me; I felt a profound sense of disagreement and since then I took a very radical change and I stopped handling wildlife.

Still from soundscape performance at the Allenheads Contemporary Art "Nature of Place" residency

What is the link between arts and science for you? How are they linked in your career/ artistic practice?

The episode with the bat really made me hope that there was another way of doing conservation. I started looking into humans as animals and created immersive experiments with people. I have been very interested in humans’ perception of colours, and I applied to a MA at Central Saint Martins in Art & Science and researched a lot about colour psychology, Kandinsky and Klee. 

I think visual art is a great way to present scientific results, and I study art because I want to translate science into a form of communication that is innate in humans. People are not connecting enough with scientific information because it is too technical, so we need creativity to save the world.

It's raining inside, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

What are the issues related to sustainability that you most want to tackle?

I am currently working on a project where I am exploring the definition of two words from the language of Ecology: "Umwelt" and "Ecological Niches”. These ideas connect to the two issues I want to tackle: biodiversity loss and the need for a collective emotional intelligence. 

Umwelt means “the world as it is perceived by a particular organism”, this word speaks about inclusivity and the relevance of every species. In fact, so many different kinds of intelligence exist, and we, as humans, think we are superior. We often do not realise how intrusive our intelligence is; for sure, even the natural world kills for hunger, and I think there is a dark beauty in nature, but we are extremely unbalanced in the way we make use of natural resources. 

Ecological Niches refers to spaces of interaction between one or more entities; I have been working on a workshop where participants respond to soundscapes reproducing sounds of nature with mark-making, drawings and body language. The goal is allowing people to leave the context of society and express the way they feel and re-establish a contact with nature. We don’t often let ourselves listen to the sounds of nature, they are there, but we just do not pay attention. With this workshop I want to exercise people’s mind to create a connection with nature within themselves and to empathise.  

This research will result in a Manifesto called “My Intimate Niche”, a socio-political statement including photography, poems and documentation, to improve education with creativity by considering the deep ecological movement and the need for collective emotional intelligence.

Thanks for reading
Collect your 5 yamos below
REDEEM YAMOS
13/05/2022
Artist Interview
Anna D'Eugenio
Artist Interview: Maite Pastor Blanco
Written by
Anna D'Eugenio
Date Published
13/05/2022
Maite Pastor Blanco
Environmental Art
Activism
Interview
Science
We sit down with ecology-focused artist Maite Pastor Blanco to discuss her work, background and artistic aims.
Rewilding the mind, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

Could you tell us about your academic and professional background?

I have a scientific background but I’ve always been very visual - my parents are deaf, so my brain is used to translating ideas into signs and gestures. Also, during high school I went to California on a study exchange and the only school available was an Art & Performing high school. Then, I did a BSc in Zoology in Scotland, and I was really fascinated by the folklore of the place, which reminded me of the Basque Country. 

Something changed when I went to Brazil to study bats. One day we had to gather a rare species of bat and kill it so the taxonomist could analyse it and something broke into me; I felt a profound sense of disagreement and since then I took a very radical change and I stopped handling wildlife.

Still from soundscape performance at the Allenheads Contemporary Art "Nature of Place" residency

What is the link between arts and science for you? How are they linked in your career/ artistic practice?

The episode with the bat really made me hope that there was another way of doing conservation. I started looking into humans as animals and created immersive experiments with people. I have been very interested in humans’ perception of colours, and I applied to a MA at Central Saint Martins in Art & Science and researched a lot about colour psychology, Kandinsky and Klee. 

I think visual art is a great way to present scientific results, and I study art because I want to translate science into a form of communication that is innate in humans. People are not connecting enough with scientific information because it is too technical, so we need creativity to save the world.

It's raining inside, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

What are the issues related to sustainability that you most want to tackle?

I am currently working on a project where I am exploring the definition of two words from the language of Ecology: "Umwelt" and "Ecological Niches”. These ideas connect to the two issues I want to tackle: biodiversity loss and the need for a collective emotional intelligence. 

Umwelt means “the world as it is perceived by a particular organism”, this word speaks about inclusivity and the relevance of every species. In fact, so many different kinds of intelligence exist, and we, as humans, think we are superior. We often do not realise how intrusive our intelligence is; for sure, even the natural world kills for hunger, and I think there is a dark beauty in nature, but we are extremely unbalanced in the way we make use of natural resources. 

Ecological Niches refers to spaces of interaction between one or more entities; I have been working on a workshop where participants respond to soundscapes reproducing sounds of nature with mark-making, drawings and body language. The goal is allowing people to leave the context of society and express the way they feel and re-establish a contact with nature. We don’t often let ourselves listen to the sounds of nature, they are there, but we just do not pay attention. With this workshop I want to exercise people’s mind to create a connection with nature within themselves and to empathise.  

This research will result in a Manifesto called “My Intimate Niche”, a socio-political statement including photography, poems and documentation, to improve education with creativity by considering the deep ecological movement and the need for collective emotional intelligence.

Thanks for reading
Collect your 5 yamos below
REDEEM YAMOS
13/05/2022
Artist Interview
Anna D'Eugenio
Artist Interview: Maite Pastor Blanco
Written by
Anna D'Eugenio
Date Published
13/05/2022
Maite Pastor Blanco
Environmental Art
Activism
Interview
Science
We sit down with ecology-focused artist Maite Pastor Blanco to discuss her work, background and artistic aims.
Rewilding the mind, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

Could you tell us about your academic and professional background?

I have a scientific background but I’ve always been very visual - my parents are deaf, so my brain is used to translating ideas into signs and gestures. Also, during high school I went to California on a study exchange and the only school available was an Art & Performing high school. Then, I did a BSc in Zoology in Scotland, and I was really fascinated by the folklore of the place, which reminded me of the Basque Country. 

Something changed when I went to Brazil to study bats. One day we had to gather a rare species of bat and kill it so the taxonomist could analyse it and something broke into me; I felt a profound sense of disagreement and since then I took a very radical change and I stopped handling wildlife.

Still from soundscape performance at the Allenheads Contemporary Art "Nature of Place" residency

What is the link between arts and science for you? How are they linked in your career/ artistic practice?

The episode with the bat really made me hope that there was another way of doing conservation. I started looking into humans as animals and created immersive experiments with people. I have been very interested in humans’ perception of colours, and I applied to a MA at Central Saint Martins in Art & Science and researched a lot about colour psychology, Kandinsky and Klee. 

I think visual art is a great way to present scientific results, and I study art because I want to translate science into a form of communication that is innate in humans. People are not connecting enough with scientific information because it is too technical, so we need creativity to save the world.

It's raining inside, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

What are the issues related to sustainability that you most want to tackle?

I am currently working on a project where I am exploring the definition of two words from the language of Ecology: "Umwelt" and "Ecological Niches”. These ideas connect to the two issues I want to tackle: biodiversity loss and the need for a collective emotional intelligence. 

Umwelt means “the world as it is perceived by a particular organism”, this word speaks about inclusivity and the relevance of every species. In fact, so many different kinds of intelligence exist, and we, as humans, think we are superior. We often do not realise how intrusive our intelligence is; for sure, even the natural world kills for hunger, and I think there is a dark beauty in nature, but we are extremely unbalanced in the way we make use of natural resources. 

Ecological Niches refers to spaces of interaction between one or more entities; I have been working on a workshop where participants respond to soundscapes reproducing sounds of nature with mark-making, drawings and body language. The goal is allowing people to leave the context of society and express the way they feel and re-establish a contact with nature. We don’t often let ourselves listen to the sounds of nature, they are there, but we just do not pay attention. With this workshop I want to exercise people’s mind to create a connection with nature within themselves and to empathise.  

This research will result in a Manifesto called “My Intimate Niche”, a socio-political statement including photography, poems and documentation, to improve education with creativity by considering the deep ecological movement and the need for collective emotional intelligence.

Thanks for reading
Collect your 5 yamos below
REDEEM YAMOS
Written by
Anna D'Eugenio
Date Published
13/05/2022
Maite Pastor Blanco
Environmental Art
Activism
Interview
Science
13/05/2022
Artist Interview
Anna D'Eugenio
Artist Interview: Maite Pastor Blanco
Rewilding the mind, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

Could you tell us about your academic and professional background?

I have a scientific background but I’ve always been very visual - my parents are deaf, so my brain is used to translating ideas into signs and gestures. Also, during high school I went to California on a study exchange and the only school available was an Art & Performing high school. Then, I did a BSc in Zoology in Scotland, and I was really fascinated by the folklore of the place, which reminded me of the Basque Country. 

Something changed when I went to Brazil to study bats. One day we had to gather a rare species of bat and kill it so the taxonomist could analyse it and something broke into me; I felt a profound sense of disagreement and since then I took a very radical change and I stopped handling wildlife.

Still from soundscape performance at the Allenheads Contemporary Art "Nature of Place" residency

What is the link between arts and science for you? How are they linked in your career/ artistic practice?

The episode with the bat really made me hope that there was another way of doing conservation. I started looking into humans as animals and created immersive experiments with people. I have been very interested in humans’ perception of colours, and I applied to a MA at Central Saint Martins in Art & Science and researched a lot about colour psychology, Kandinsky and Klee. 

I think visual art is a great way to present scientific results, and I study art because I want to translate science into a form of communication that is innate in humans. People are not connecting enough with scientific information because it is too technical, so we need creativity to save the world.

It's raining inside, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

What are the issues related to sustainability that you most want to tackle?

I am currently working on a project where I am exploring the definition of two words from the language of Ecology: "Umwelt" and "Ecological Niches”. These ideas connect to the two issues I want to tackle: biodiversity loss and the need for a collective emotional intelligence. 

Umwelt means “the world as it is perceived by a particular organism”, this word speaks about inclusivity and the relevance of every species. In fact, so many different kinds of intelligence exist, and we, as humans, think we are superior. We often do not realise how intrusive our intelligence is; for sure, even the natural world kills for hunger, and I think there is a dark beauty in nature, but we are extremely unbalanced in the way we make use of natural resources. 

Ecological Niches refers to spaces of interaction between one or more entities; I have been working on a workshop where participants respond to soundscapes reproducing sounds of nature with mark-making, drawings and body language. The goal is allowing people to leave the context of society and express the way they feel and re-establish a contact with nature. We don’t often let ourselves listen to the sounds of nature, they are there, but we just do not pay attention. With this workshop I want to exercise people’s mind to create a connection with nature within themselves and to empathise.  

This research will result in a Manifesto called “My Intimate Niche”, a socio-political statement including photography, poems and documentation, to improve education with creativity by considering the deep ecological movement and the need for collective emotional intelligence.

Thanks for reading
Collect your 5 yamos below
REDEEM YAMOS
Artist Interview: Maite Pastor Blanco
13/05/2022
Artist Interview
Anna D'Eugenio
Written by
Anna D'Eugenio
Date Published
13/05/2022
Maite Pastor Blanco
Environmental Art
Activism
Interview
Science
We sit down with ecology-focused artist Maite Pastor Blanco to discuss her work, background and artistic aims.
Rewilding the mind, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

Could you tell us about your academic and professional background?

I have a scientific background but I’ve always been very visual - my parents are deaf, so my brain is used to translating ideas into signs and gestures. Also, during high school I went to California on a study exchange and the only school available was an Art & Performing high school. Then, I did a BSc in Zoology in Scotland, and I was really fascinated by the folklore of the place, which reminded me of the Basque Country. 

Something changed when I went to Brazil to study bats. One day we had to gather a rare species of bat and kill it so the taxonomist could analyse it and something broke into me; I felt a profound sense of disagreement and since then I took a very radical change and I stopped handling wildlife.

Still from soundscape performance at the Allenheads Contemporary Art "Nature of Place" residency

What is the link between arts and science for you? How are they linked in your career/ artistic practice?

The episode with the bat really made me hope that there was another way of doing conservation. I started looking into humans as animals and created immersive experiments with people. I have been very interested in humans’ perception of colours, and I applied to a MA at Central Saint Martins in Art & Science and researched a lot about colour psychology, Kandinsky and Klee. 

I think visual art is a great way to present scientific results, and I study art because I want to translate science into a form of communication that is innate in humans. People are not connecting enough with scientific information because it is too technical, so we need creativity to save the world.

It's raining inside, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

What are the issues related to sustainability that you most want to tackle?

I am currently working on a project where I am exploring the definition of two words from the language of Ecology: "Umwelt" and "Ecological Niches”. These ideas connect to the two issues I want to tackle: biodiversity loss and the need for a collective emotional intelligence. 

Umwelt means “the world as it is perceived by a particular organism”, this word speaks about inclusivity and the relevance of every species. In fact, so many different kinds of intelligence exist, and we, as humans, think we are superior. We often do not realise how intrusive our intelligence is; for sure, even the natural world kills for hunger, and I think there is a dark beauty in nature, but we are extremely unbalanced in the way we make use of natural resources. 

Ecological Niches refers to spaces of interaction between one or more entities; I have been working on a workshop where participants respond to soundscapes reproducing sounds of nature with mark-making, drawings and body language. The goal is allowing people to leave the context of society and express the way they feel and re-establish a contact with nature. We don’t often let ourselves listen to the sounds of nature, they are there, but we just do not pay attention. With this workshop I want to exercise people’s mind to create a connection with nature within themselves and to empathise.  

This research will result in a Manifesto called “My Intimate Niche”, a socio-political statement including photography, poems and documentation, to improve education with creativity by considering the deep ecological movement and the need for collective emotional intelligence.

Thanks for reading
Collect your 5 yamos below
REDEEM YAMOS
Artist Interview: Maite Pastor Blanco
Written by
Anna D'Eugenio
Date Published
13/05/2022
We sit down with ecology-focused artist Maite Pastor Blanco to discuss her work, background and artistic aims.
13/05/2022
Artist Interview
Anna D'Eugenio
Rewilding the mind, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

Could you tell us about your academic and professional background?

I have a scientific background but I’ve always been very visual - my parents are deaf, so my brain is used to translating ideas into signs and gestures. Also, during high school I went to California on a study exchange and the only school available was an Art & Performing high school. Then, I did a BSc in Zoology in Scotland, and I was really fascinated by the folklore of the place, which reminded me of the Basque Country. 

Something changed when I went to Brazil to study bats. One day we had to gather a rare species of bat and kill it so the taxonomist could analyse it and something broke into me; I felt a profound sense of disagreement and since then I took a very radical change and I stopped handling wildlife.

Still from soundscape performance at the Allenheads Contemporary Art "Nature of Place" residency

What is the link between arts and science for you? How are they linked in your career/ artistic practice?

The episode with the bat really made me hope that there was another way of doing conservation. I started looking into humans as animals and created immersive experiments with people. I have been very interested in humans’ perception of colours, and I applied to a MA at Central Saint Martins in Art & Science and researched a lot about colour psychology, Kandinsky and Klee. 

I think visual art is a great way to present scientific results, and I study art because I want to translate science into a form of communication that is innate in humans. People are not connecting enough with scientific information because it is too technical, so we need creativity to save the world.

It's raining inside, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

What are the issues related to sustainability that you most want to tackle?

I am currently working on a project where I am exploring the definition of two words from the language of Ecology: "Umwelt" and "Ecological Niches”. These ideas connect to the two issues I want to tackle: biodiversity loss and the need for a collective emotional intelligence. 

Umwelt means “the world as it is perceived by a particular organism”, this word speaks about inclusivity and the relevance of every species. In fact, so many different kinds of intelligence exist, and we, as humans, think we are superior. We often do not realise how intrusive our intelligence is; for sure, even the natural world kills for hunger, and I think there is a dark beauty in nature, but we are extremely unbalanced in the way we make use of natural resources. 

Ecological Niches refers to spaces of interaction between one or more entities; I have been working on a workshop where participants respond to soundscapes reproducing sounds of nature with mark-making, drawings and body language. The goal is allowing people to leave the context of society and express the way they feel and re-establish a contact with nature. We don’t often let ourselves listen to the sounds of nature, they are there, but we just do not pay attention. With this workshop I want to exercise people’s mind to create a connection with nature within themselves and to empathise.  

This research will result in a Manifesto called “My Intimate Niche”, a socio-political statement including photography, poems and documentation, to improve education with creativity by considering the deep ecological movement and the need for collective emotional intelligence.

Thanks for reading
Collect your 5 yamos below
REDEEM YAMOS
Artist Interview: Maite Pastor Blanco
Written by
Anna D'Eugenio
Date Published
13/05/2022
Maite Pastor Blanco
Environmental Art
Activism
Interview
Science
13/05/2022
Artist Interview
Anna D'Eugenio
We sit down with ecology-focused artist Maite Pastor Blanco to discuss her work, background and artistic aims.
Rewilding the mind, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

Could you tell us about your academic and professional background?

I have a scientific background but I’ve always been very visual - my parents are deaf, so my brain is used to translating ideas into signs and gestures. Also, during high school I went to California on a study exchange and the only school available was an Art & Performing high school. Then, I did a BSc in Zoology in Scotland, and I was really fascinated by the folklore of the place, which reminded me of the Basque Country. 

Something changed when I went to Brazil to study bats. One day we had to gather a rare species of bat and kill it so the taxonomist could analyse it and something broke into me; I felt a profound sense of disagreement and since then I took a very radical change and I stopped handling wildlife.

Still from soundscape performance at the Allenheads Contemporary Art "Nature of Place" residency

What is the link between arts and science for you? How are they linked in your career/ artistic practice?

The episode with the bat really made me hope that there was another way of doing conservation. I started looking into humans as animals and created immersive experiments with people. I have been very interested in humans’ perception of colours, and I applied to a MA at Central Saint Martins in Art & Science and researched a lot about colour psychology, Kandinsky and Klee. 

I think visual art is a great way to present scientific results, and I study art because I want to translate science into a form of communication that is innate in humans. People are not connecting enough with scientific information because it is too technical, so we need creativity to save the world.

It's raining inside, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

What are the issues related to sustainability that you most want to tackle?

I am currently working on a project where I am exploring the definition of two words from the language of Ecology: "Umwelt" and "Ecological Niches”. These ideas connect to the two issues I want to tackle: biodiversity loss and the need for a collective emotional intelligence. 

Umwelt means “the world as it is perceived by a particular organism”, this word speaks about inclusivity and the relevance of every species. In fact, so many different kinds of intelligence exist, and we, as humans, think we are superior. We often do not realise how intrusive our intelligence is; for sure, even the natural world kills for hunger, and I think there is a dark beauty in nature, but we are extremely unbalanced in the way we make use of natural resources. 

Ecological Niches refers to spaces of interaction between one or more entities; I have been working on a workshop where participants respond to soundscapes reproducing sounds of nature with mark-making, drawings and body language. The goal is allowing people to leave the context of society and express the way they feel and re-establish a contact with nature. We don’t often let ourselves listen to the sounds of nature, they are there, but we just do not pay attention. With this workshop I want to exercise people’s mind to create a connection with nature within themselves and to empathise.  

This research will result in a Manifesto called “My Intimate Niche”, a socio-political statement including photography, poems and documentation, to improve education with creativity by considering the deep ecological movement and the need for collective emotional intelligence.

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13/05/2022
Artist Interview
Anna D'Eugenio
Artist Interview: Maite Pastor Blanco
We sit down with ecology-focused artist Maite Pastor Blanco to discuss her work, background and artistic aims.
Rewilding the mind, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

Could you tell us about your academic and professional background?

I have a scientific background but I’ve always been very visual - my parents are deaf, so my brain is used to translating ideas into signs and gestures. Also, during high school I went to California on a study exchange and the only school available was an Art & Performing high school. Then, I did a BSc in Zoology in Scotland, and I was really fascinated by the folklore of the place, which reminded me of the Basque Country. 

Something changed when I went to Brazil to study bats. One day we had to gather a rare species of bat and kill it so the taxonomist could analyse it and something broke into me; I felt a profound sense of disagreement and since then I took a very radical change and I stopped handling wildlife.

Still from soundscape performance at the Allenheads Contemporary Art "Nature of Place" residency

What is the link between arts and science for you? How are they linked in your career/ artistic practice?

The episode with the bat really made me hope that there was another way of doing conservation. I started looking into humans as animals and created immersive experiments with people. I have been very interested in humans’ perception of colours, and I applied to a MA at Central Saint Martins in Art & Science and researched a lot about colour psychology, Kandinsky and Klee. 

I think visual art is a great way to present scientific results, and I study art because I want to translate science into a form of communication that is innate in humans. People are not connecting enough with scientific information because it is too technical, so we need creativity to save the world.

It's raining inside, Maite Pastor Blanco (oil on canvas)

What are the issues related to sustainability that you most want to tackle?

I am currently working on a project where I am exploring the definition of two words from the language of Ecology: "Umwelt" and "Ecological Niches”. These ideas connect to the two issues I want to tackle: biodiversity loss and the need for a collective emotional intelligence. 

Umwelt means “the world as it is perceived by a particular organism”, this word speaks about inclusivity and the relevance of every species. In fact, so many different kinds of intelligence exist, and we, as humans, think we are superior. We often do not realise how intrusive our intelligence is; for sure, even the natural world kills for hunger, and I think there is a dark beauty in nature, but we are extremely unbalanced in the way we make use of natural resources. 

Ecological Niches refers to spaces of interaction between one or more entities; I have been working on a workshop where participants respond to soundscapes reproducing sounds of nature with mark-making, drawings and body language. The goal is allowing people to leave the context of society and express the way they feel and re-establish a contact with nature. We don’t often let ourselves listen to the sounds of nature, they are there, but we just do not pay attention. With this workshop I want to exercise people’s mind to create a connection with nature within themselves and to empathise.  

This research will result in a Manifesto called “My Intimate Niche”, a socio-political statement including photography, poems and documentation, to improve education with creativity by considering the deep ecological movement and the need for collective emotional intelligence.

Thanks for reading
Collect your 5 yamos below
REDEEM YAMOS
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