Notes on The Fable of the Agronauts
Ecopoiesis1, a term I have adapted from science fiction, refers to the creation of a self-sustaining ecosystem on a currently lifeless, sterile planet, typically an exoplanet. The notion of space exploration, often romanticized in speculative fiction, is deeply entwined with the historical process of dis-inhabitation2, reflecting a continuation of Western modernity’s legacy of alienation from the Earth. Within this paradigm, the planet is often viewed as a site of damnation, primitiveness, or underdevelopment-an obstacle to be overcome or transcended.
Another critical element grounding this research is the historical experience of the Amazigh community, whose cultural and political struggles serve as an anchor. By exploring the archives of the Cultural Amazigh Movement -a network uniting various organizations and diasporic groups in North Africa and Europe (notably in France, Belgium and the Netherlands) to advocate for cultural rights and constitutional reforms in Morocco; I encountered several recurring motifs. Among these are the figures of the wandering peasant and the landless, both emblematic of modernity’s disruptions. Another salient figure is that of the dispossessed; an experience poignantly articulated in the works of Tahar Djaout (1954–1993), which explore the dual dispossession from both one’s mother tongue and one’s homeland. Finally, there is the figure of the Berber Pirate.
The concept of “land” emerges as central to any ecological discourse or project. Whether addressing urban gardening or community-building, the Earth remains indispensable. Yet, in Eurocentric contexts, the land has often already been claimed or continuously redefined through various agrarian movements or even eco-nationalist ideologies. Fatima Ouassak, in Toward a Pirate Ecology, provocatively engages with these issues. She poses the question of the ecology of the landless (sans terre), highlighting the disconnect between marginalized communities and their environments. She observes:
"When we ask people living in working-class neighborhoods why they don't join the environmentalist movement, we forget that we're dealing with people who aren't considered at home where they live. I'd even go so far as to call people from these neighborhoods 'landless'. They've been there for several generations, yet they maintain no emotional, carnal, or sensitive relationship with the land. We desanctify them, repeatedly telling them that they're not at home here, that this land isn't theirs."
This reflection opened a Pandora's box for me. In my research, I have navigated between tangible landscapes such as Marrakech and Aghmat, where the physical land serves as an anchor for articulating and repairing ecologies (or even decolonial ones), rooted in an Antaean relationship with the Earth; gaining strength through direct contact with Gaea, according to myth. However, the African subject, the Amazigh, has historically been shaped by experiences of exile, uprooting, and the necropolitics of borders, all designed to deprive these communities of their mobility. Within this context, a form of pirate utopianism arises. The Mediterranean, particularly the Barbary or Berber Coast, also carries historical weight, now emerging as a contemporary graveyard for countless lives, including two young boys from rural southern Marrakech who recently lost their life at sea.
Against this backdrop, I began developing a proto-agropunk scenario, working with a variety of media, including drawing, dyeing, and painting. This process culminated in The Fable of the Agronauts, a project that emerged from an engagement with Amazigh Futurism and world-building practices. The narrative begins with the myth of an isolated community, rooted in the ethnographic traditions that portray certain Amazigh groups as secluded and disconnected from history. This myth of isolation is subverted in The Fable, as the community becomes mobile, proto-nomadic; due to resource scarcity, traversing geographies and space-time continuums. Equipped with knowledge of ironworking, space travel, language, and the science of the gut (‘Ilm al kerch), this community embarks on a journey to the Earth's core.
The fable follows several key figures within this community: Noureddine the Source-erer, who tracks the subterranean Arachnidian Rivers in search of water; Jimmy from Zagoura, the storyteller; and Idriss, who has been shrunk by the Agency of Chronophages.
During an open studio, I developed an immersive installation with four interactive stations, each activated in a circular pattern over four days:
Circle One: The Lock and the Barbary Fig
An alien -represented by the Cochineal Insect- enters the isolated community and devastates the production cycle of the Barbary Fig, a vital component of the local Amazigh circular economy.
Circle Two: The Arachnidian River
Noureddine, the "Source-erer," hails from the tribe of Imssiwan (The Irrigators), and follows the subterranean Arachnidian River. He uncovers the community's drought and the ensuing water crises that destabilize the region.
Circles Three and Four: The Fable of the Agronauts (Acts One and Two)
The final two acts depict how the Agronauts invented storytelling and the origins of language, which they believe arrived from outer space via iron and meteorites. In these acts, we see Noureddine, transformed into a sheep, engaging in the practice of bibliophagy; literally, the eating of libraries.
Notes:
1* In a previous body of work, I explored sociopoiesis, the creation and activation of social situations through workshops and action-based research.
2* Here, I reference the extensive work of anthropologist Danuta Liberski-Bagnoud, whose research examines the links between colonial property regimes in Africa and the systematic destruction and exploitation of African resources.
