Eva Jack
Design for
animal studies, archival research, Ecology, non-human perspectives, storytelling
Year
2020-20212021-2022
Eva Jack graduated with a Master’s in Social Design from Design Academy Eindhoven (NL) in 2019. Her work centres around the strange relations that connect humans and animals. Eva is particularly fascinated by Natural History museums, where entertainment collides with education in artificial re-enactments of multispecies worlds. Given this context, her work does not necessarily focus on the animal itself but instead on their representation, cultural meaning and shared social history with humans. Ultimately, she is led by the question ‘Why Look at Animals?’ (borrowing the title of John Berger’s 2009 book). She gives form to her research through immersive installations, short films and written works. Using tactics like subversion she attempts to question the position of the human, de-stabilising the notion of anthropocentrism.
Insight
What do you think is the role of design for change?
To examine contemporary society and offer alternative ways of being, thinking, saying, teaching, feeling, explaining, learning, living, seeing, understanding, doing…and so on.
Who are you inspired by?
Mostly, I look to people who see the world – even just their tiny corner of it – differently. The way Nan Shepherd writes about the Cairngorms, or Philip Hoare speaks about the sea, or Donna Haraway interacts with her dog or the way Stephen Watts meditates on the Western Isles. I am fascinated by the ways in which personal histories and geographies are intertwined. So, I am inspired by walking, or reading about other people walking.
One book or reading recommendation?
A seemingly untitled and utterly incredible essay about moth traps and trumpet cases by Alice Oswald. Here, she reads it aloud – https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000hx7m