Brett Bloom is an artist, writer, and organizer living in Copenhagen. He is a member of the art group Temporary Services. Ecological and social justice issues feature in much of Bloom’s work. Recent efforts include his book: Petro-Subjectivity: De-Industrializing Our Sense of Self (Breakdown Break Down Press 2015). Bloom has organized intensive workshops and camps where people come together to practice and inhabit post-oil subjectivities in preparation for climate breakdown and collapse.

Here are some examples of his work:

PETRO-SUBJECTIVITY

Petro-subjectivity is something that each of us experiences constantly. It is a sense of self and the world that shapes who we are and how we think. It stems in part from the fact that the use of oil is present in every thing we do. It has shaped the concepts that govern our thinking. Our use of language and the basic concepts that structure our existence are breathed through the logic of oil relationships and form the metaphoric universe we bathe ourselves in when we speak to one another about who we are, what we do and what the world around us consists of.

 

Link for further information related to this material: www.breakdownbreakdown.net

Also download this PDF to read more about the project.

---

 

BELLTOWN PARADISE

 

Urban communities have long tried to defend their neighborhoods from environmental and social blight. This book examines the diverse ways in which artists, environmental activists, and citizens work to revitalize their urban environments. 

Belltown Paradise investigates grassroots renovation efforts in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle, exploring the work of activists there, including their creation of the Belltown P-Patch community garden and conversion of three historic cottages into writers’ residences and a community center. The volume also features the first in-depth survey of artist Buster Simpson’s work in Belltown. 

Making Their Own Plans examines preservation projects in Portland, Chicago, Hamburg, and Barcelona. From the Resource Center’s work in Chicago to develop 6,000 acres of vacant city land into farms to the transformation of an old hospital into a community center, the book offers fascinating accounts of independent urban activism around the world.

Belltown Paradise and Making Their Own Plans present inspiring chronicles of how concerned citizens affected community change, making these volumes invaluable for activists and policymakers.

For more information about the project download this PDF.

---

POWERLESS POWERPOINT

More info about this project HERE and HERE

Related web sites:

www.temporaryservices.org
www.halfletterpress.com
www.mythologicalquarter.net
www.letsremake.info
www.breakdownbreakdown.net

All text by Brett Bloom