The Open Mind Series is a selection of interviews with artists, designers and other ‘creators’ from around the world giving us an insight into how they see the world now and tomorrow. No qualifications required. No taboo. No right or wrong. Just openness. And artworks.
How do you imagine the world in 20 years?
Ecologically, I sadly imagine that the ongoing natural phenomena will cause serious problems.
In 20 years, I’m afraid that earthquakes and floods will destroy many more areas with their inhabitants and that forest fires and deforestation will lead to the demolition of almost all our woodlands.
Maybe by then, every single person on this world would be finally aware about the environmental problems and will start to change their lifestyle in order to save the planet.
How do you imagine the world in 1000 years?
In the end, people will do everything to save the earth, but will face the fact that they started to act too late. Unfortunately, nature will take over humans and the earth will blow up, sink, or burn.
Humans, if we could still call them that by then, will possibly make a new artificial planet. All survivors will live together in a single territory – no countries, no nations, no rules – a tabula rasa.
A new kind of society will need to be formed. It may be better than what exists today.
What is the plant, animal or object that most inspires you and how?
In many aspects, trees are extremely fascinating to me. They provide us with warmth, shelter and food – the essential needs of humans. Their existence became indispensable in our life for a lot of practical reasons, but lately we have been abusing them and getting punished by nature for our mistakes. Trees are the witnesses of many events and they know more about our past than we do. I’ve always wondered why a tree wasn’t considered as a “vanitas” symbol. In my work I value trees as a symbol of the transience of life.
What is the emotion that drives you in your work?
It all starts by fascination, even wonder – the strongest emotion that triggers my inspiration and drives me to start analyzing. These fascinations are mostly negative events that evoke a strong feeling of remorse.
I am curious and fascinated by milestones in man’s and nature’s lifetime. Consciously or not, I always work towards an ideology. In that sense, hope could be seen as my motive.
What does community mean to you personally?
People striving for the same goal, people fighting for the same rights, people believing the same ideology, rather than people living together. I guess I see community more as a spiritual togetherness.
How do you connect with the Earth today?
I connect with earth today by living highly consciously, finding beauty in common, small things and taking to heart every detail. By focusing on details of natural elements, I am at once entirely connected to the earth and completely disconnected because I’ve lost the wider context.
Creating artistic work that talks about and is inspired by nature, becomes a world in itself. It’s also primordial to me to do things that let me feel human in a rudimental way.
What is your dream for the arts world?
Less boundaries! In all areas – between art and design, between disciplines, between artists and institutions, and many more. I wish that there were more collaboration between the arts and the non-arts world. It would be really meaningful to me if more artists would work together with scientists, ecologists, urbanists or psychologists. I also hope for an overall increase in consciousness on the necessity of art in our daily life.
What’s the best thing on earth?
The fact that the earth consists of more than a billion things from which one can find the best for each of us.
Ellen Piot is a Belgian designer and visual artist, whose Obelisco sculptures aimed at restoring original oak forests in Portugal, following devastating eucalyptus forest fires in 2017. Her work was exhibited at L’abbaye de La Cambre in Brussels, at the expeditie in Ghent, as well as at Avenue in Gothenburg and at Galeria do sol in Porto.