Communicating Socially like Ants in Grossbasel

This is an attempt to explore nature from within, rather than from above. Taking the point of view of ants and other social insects present all across gardens in Basel, we tried our hand at coordinating ourselves in a contemporary, technological type of stigmergy with the help of social media. Leaving traces in the form of selfies taken on street corners and next to monuments throughout the tunnel-like alleys of Basel’s hilly old town (known locally as “Grossbasel”), we signal to each other where we are, recording our diverse paths with a GoPro. The city center is thus experienced like a giant ant mound inside of which we are only a fraction of the thousands of busy workers. The city of Basel not only contains myriad forms of life across thriving gardens, it is also a garden itself.
 
In complement to our embodied approach to studying gardens and their inhabitants through ecosomatic practices such as listening to each others’ gut flora, here we explore “urban connectivity” to amplify the significance of the social beings present in city gardens - such as ants - and observe their entanglement with our own daily social practices on smart phones and in city centers.