Stories on Earth is an experiment that brings together spatial designers and writers to devise new spatial narratives that accommodate the inherent interrelationship between humans and the non-human. Together, these artists have crafted three stories that open up the possibility of imagining radically different worldviews, challenging society’s prevailing belief in a separation between humans and everything else. For Breezeblock 23, Charlie talks to fellow editors Chiara Dorbolò and Daphne Bakker about the project, which they curated as part of Failed Architecture’s contribution to the public parallel programme of the Dutch Pavilion during the 17th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia.

Chiara and Daphne talk about their role in the process of bringing the project to fruition amid the global pandemic and their collaboration with the artists they invited to contribute. They also talk about the subject matter of the three stories videos, specifically with regard to the spatial typologies they chose to focus on (the zoological garden, the botanical garden and the museum of natural history). After a brief discussion of alternative conceptions of time, we round things off with a light discussion about the host’s article “The Virus Biennale” written as a critique of biennales in general, at the very beginning of the pandemic.