Archive 22

began with an observation from our photographic practices: The hierarchy of biodiversity within the visual cultures from which we grew up was skewed towards charismatic species, meaning some species received far more visual attention than others. We wanted to look more closely at where our visual attention is directed as we live during the sixth mass extinction and on what terms. We ask what it means to remember biodiversity when many of our encounters with highly visible species are mediated through technology such as (social-) media and the digitalization of image circulation. Therefore, instead of reproducing the status quo iconography such as whales, polar bears, pandas, leopards, and the like whose stories are undoubtedly important, we chose to focus our attention on species that are visually underrepresented and that are regarded less charismatically with a low risk Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN 3.1) conservation status. Building upon Hito Steyerl’s concept of the “poor image,” we call these  “poor species.” Their poverty refers to their limited circulation as only a narrow selection enters the public’s emotional imagination of ecological crisis.

—Collective 22, co-founded by Céline Haeberly and Polina Schneider