How Do We Know an Ecology?

Explore photography, evidence and other ways of knowing the environment with Robert Zhao Renhui, Dr Wang Ruobing and Mary Ann Lim. Photography has long been used to observe, document and classify the natural world. But an ecology is never completely visible. It unfolds through relationships, histories, materials and processes that may exceed what a camera can record.Bringing together Robert Zhao Renhui and Dr Wang Ruobing, and moderated by Mary Ann Lim, this conversation considers how artists produce knowledge about the environments they work within. Both artists begin from sustained encounters with their surroundings, but develop very different ways of making these encounters visible. Their practices move between photography, field observation, collected materials, archives, moving image, installation, scientific knowledge and everyday encounters. Rather than treating ecology simply as a subject, they consider how we come to know an environment in the first place — what we notice, what we collect, what we choose to record, and what inevitably escapes us. Taking photography as a starting point, the conversation asks what constitutes ecological evidence. Can a photograph tell us how an ecosystem works? Can a discarded object, an animal encounter, a specimen, an archive or a piece of waste carry another kind of knowledge? And what happens when artistic observation sits alongside scientific knowledge, local experience, memory and chance? The discussion proposes ecology not only as something to represent, but as a way of thinking through relationships — and asks how photography might participate in that process without claiming to fully explain or contain the living world. About 10th SIPF 2026 Asia Meet Symposium Immerse yourself through a curated series of artist dialogues and panel sessions. Tailored to enrich your artistic journey, these sessions welcome practitioners at every stage of their creative development. Drawing on the expertise of prominent industry figures and lens-based creators, participants will acquire insights and, perhaps, a spark of inspiration required to challenge the frontiers of their practice. These sessions aim to encounter fresh perspectives and elevate creative practice through these dedicated platforms for communal exchange and professional development. Check out our Symposium Pass perks here!