Interviews

An experienced photographer and traveler, Mikhail Korostelev shares in this interview what wildlife photography means to him, how photography has influenced his perception of the world of animals, and what role photography plays in the animal rights movement and the environmental movement. 

The broad range of ecopsychology topics is discussed in this interview with one of the Russian ecopsychological founders and leaders, Viktor Panov. As he reviews the specifics and different directions of this scientific and practical discipline, Panov pays special attention to ecopsychological research associated with the psychology of environmental consciousness. During the discussion, different types of human interactions with natural objects are described, including those corresponding to the nature-centric type of ecological consciousness.

Musician, composer, poet and singer Riya Volkova talks about her creative endeavors related to playing the Russian harp (the ‘gusli’), her attitude to the traditional musical culture of the peoples of North-West Russia and traditional music’s connection with new musical trends, as well as the importance of nature for her work.

In this interview, Gracelynn Lau talks about the experiences she has had that lead her to question her thinking about ecopoiesis and nature-assisted arts therapy. After spending more than five years living in an ecovillage and interacting with the neighbouring indigenous people, she has developed a perspective based on a decolonizing approach to ecopoiesis. Her involvement with the Work that Reconnects, the approach to ecological activism developed by Joanna Macy, has reinforced her sense that although it is essential to draw on the beneficial aspects of being in contact with nature, a truly ecopoietic approach must go further and work to transform our environment and ourselves.

Moscow artist Maxim Demin gave an interview to our journal, in which he talks about the connection of his work with traditional iconography and its interaction with the environment, time, space, his study of natural dynamics and life cycles of natural materials and objects, and spiritual sources of creativity.

Two artists from NYC, Jean Davis and Nancy Wu, gave an interview to our journal in which they talk about their environmental artistic endeavors linked to Resurrect Studio which entails gathering broken, discarded, but ultimately luminous pieces of glass fragments found on the ocean coastal line.  The glass sculptures collectively tell a story of hope and inspiration, of sacred and profane.

Psychologist, musician, composer Vadim Ryabikov - about co-creation with the natural world, geopoetics, ecological grief, psy-geographic music as a special way of human interaction with natural landscapes, transforming the experience of the landscape into aesthetic images that can change our attitude to the environment and have a healing effect on us and our life world.

A hereditary shaman, psychologist Oraz Abulkhair gave an interview to our journal in which he talks about his practice of shamanism and creativity, their connection with nature, the search for universal values in the era of globalization and his desire to keep in touch with the spiritual traditions of his people.

The interview begins with the author summarizing his new book, Dump Philosophy, in which he gives a phenomenological description of the devastated world we live in today. Hierarchy has been replaced by a levelling process in which the boundaries and distinctions between different regions of being no longer obtain. As he says, “All the world’s a dump.” There is no position outside of the dump that is uncontaminated. In response to the interviewer’s objections, he goes on to say that neither art nor philosophy constitute exceptions to this process. Rather, what we must do is be faithful to the experience of the dump itself and not look for exceptions elsewhere. Even the very air we breathe has become part of the dump in which we exist. We must engage in “…learning to be in the middle…even in and especially if one is in the middle of a dump.”

An artist from St. Petersburg, Alexandra Dvornikova, gave an interview to our journal in which she talks about her work and its connection with nature, about the artist's role in promoting environmental values and ecological culture, developing environmental awareness, and about communicating with the natural world as a source of inspiration, beauty and healing.