Paper Short Abstract:

This paper examines eco-semiotics as a bridge between science, art, and Indigenous knowledge, combining the perspectives of a soil scientist, a bio-artist, and a researcher in traditional ecological knowledge. By exploring (un)written methodologies, such as hearing, tasting, intuition, and feeling.

Paper Abstract:

With the Enlightenment era of individualism and scientific reason, humans made significant leaps toward understanding the surrounding environment and ecosystems we inhabit. Yet, this pursuit of reason also propelled us into human-centric and ego-centric narratives, which lie at the heart of Eurocentric science and ontology. Before Westernised science, there were magic, alchemy, and Indigenous knowledge. These systems were rooted in (un)written epistemologies, empirical and spiritual ways of knowing passed down through generations. One such example is traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), which relies on eco-semiotics, the study of the signs and meaning-making processes that connect humans, more-than-humans, and ecosystems across time and cultures.

In the current era of climate breakdown, melting glaciers, shifting streams, and the rapid loss of biodiversity brought on by human activity, it is imperative to turn back to these (un)written knowledge systems to re-learn and adapt practices that preserve the diversity of life. Eco-semiotics offers a framework for understanding the interconnections between nature-made symbols and their communicative meanings in cultural and ecological contexts. This paper explores how eco-semiotics emerges across rational sciences, artistic research, and Indigenous knowledge, through the combined perspectives of a soil scientist, a bio-artist, and a researcher of Indigenous knowledge. Grounded in their distinct yet interconnected practices, the authors examine their shared connection with the more-than-human world through their work. By employing (un)written methodologies of knowledge gathering, such as observing, tasting, hearing, intuition, and feeling, they uncover pathways to preserve and use Indigenous knowledge while fostering new insights for sustainable biodiversity conservation.