Anab Jain

Every thought and action is a cosmic event connected across space and time

Think of the world not as a set of discrete objects, but as relational in which we’re all in deep, entangled relationships with each other and all planetary beings. Every thought and action is a cosmic event connected across space and time.

That’s our little message. What we’ve written in this message is the idea of being in relation with each other and celebrating the relationality between all beings. And this is because a couple of projects, the large experiential productions we did for CreaTures called Refuge for Resurgence and Invocation for Hope, really took us deep into this space of understanding our place on the planet, understanding or exploring what does it mean to be human today? What does it mean to be human in the context of the current climate crisis? And really forcing ourselves to reckon with the challenges we face. We are very inspired by the work of people like Robin Wall Kimmerer, but also several indigenous communities from where I come in Gujarat in India, but also other parts of the world. And we were just deeply inspired by the relationship they have with the land, with other species. We recognize that it is through that love and care that you start to have a more informed relationship with the planet. And the minute you care and love for your planet, for the other species, you start to reduce your own destructive force on the planet. And so our message is about acknowledging that relationship, acknowledging the love and care that we all actually have in our shared humanity. How might we extend it to all of the species, to the rock and the mountains and the rivers and the butterflies and the lichen in a way that we want to care for them. And that’s really our message.

Fundamentally what gets people to be involved is that people actually want to help

I think fundamentally what gets people to be involved is that people actually want to help. People fundamentally want to help each other. And if you ask them, would you be interested? Unless there’s something absolutely pressing and they cannot, by large, people want to gain more. People want to help. They want to play a part. They want to play their part in it.

I can feel our bodies are in sync with the exhaustion of the planet

The thing is the world is burning in a way. It is tired, the planet is tired and we are tired. We are all exhausted. And I can feel our bodies are in sync with the exhaustion of the planet. And I kind of feel that being in sync is a sign again of the relationality that I’m trying to get at.

When you imagine something, it doesn’t happen only in your mind, it happens in relation to others

Things like this require it’s a collective transformation and actually it’s an entire relational transformation. I bring in the idea of relationality because, for instance, when you imagine something, it doesn’t happen only in your mind, it happens in relation to others. So it’s that transfer across exchange between individuals and collectives and back to individual. And it is through that relationality that a transformation happens. So I really do. We really do believe in the idea of relationality.

About Anab Jain

Anab is a designer, futurist, filmmaker and educator. As Co-founder and Director of Superflux, she catalyses our Studio’s vision to imagine and generate plural visions of precarious flourishing in challenging times.

CreaTures resources

Jain, A. (2022). You can only be the Revolution. [Keynote]. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, April 2022

Choi, J. H-j., Botero, A., Ampatzidou, C., Beavers I., Dolejšová, M., Jain, A. & Lohmann, J. (2021). Re-membering with Fantastic Creatures. [Conference presentation]. Eco-creativity: Art, Music, Ritual and Global Climate Politics. 19 Nov 2021, Milton Keynes, UK.

Jain, A. and Ardern, J. (2021). We are more than human [Manifesto presentation). Dezeen Digital Festival 2021. 

Jain, A. (2021). Developing the Vision of the Bauhaus of the Seas 4: Renewing Practices. [Panel discussion]. Bauhaus of the Seas International Conference, Venice.

Botero, A., Choi, J. H-j., Jain, A., Lapin, K., Sharma, S., Pineros, N., Lintunen, A. & Catlow, R. (2021). What is a forest? When is a forest? [Panel discussion]. Vienna Biennale for Change 2021. 

Jain, A., Spačal, S., Planišček, A. Petrič, Š., Peirano, M. (2021). (re)programming: Interdependence – Post-Human Politics [Discussion]. Aksioma – (re)programming: Strategies for Self-renewal. 

Jain. A., Obrist H.U., Formafantasma, Diawara, M. (2021). Retracing the Roots – Anab Jain in conversation with Hans Ulrich Obrist, Formafantasma and Manthia Diawara. [Panel discussion]. Serpentine Gallery

Jain, A. (2020). Toward More-Than-Human Futures: Superflux [Conference keynote]. Node20 Forum for Digital Arts. 

Jain, A. (2020). Sentient Forests [Symposium presentation]. European Forum Alpbach – Technology Symposium.

Jain, A. (2020). Becoming Unstable [Festival talk]. Fiber festival 2020.Jain, A. (2020). Into the Wild [Keynote] University of the Arts London LCC Staff Conference.