Conversations with Plants: Performative methods for participation
Our third workshop took place on the 11th and 12th of September 2013 in the Forest of Dean. Moving back a little from our focus on explicit participatory frameworks that set out particular stages to follow, this workshop explored a more experiential approach based on performative and arts-based methods for working with trees. This enabled us to focus more on the idea of conversation itself and, in particular, how a conversation with trees might require different forms of affective attunement from the human participants.
|
Our guides for this process were Nikki Moore (Community Officer) and Sarah Sawyer (Information Officer) from the Wye Valley Area of Natural Beauty. Nikki is the director of a project called InsideOUT, a partnership with the Forestry Commission, which uses the arts as a catalyst to engage and connect people from excluded and under-represented groups with the landscape of the Wye Valley. A key aim is to break down barriers between disadvantaged groups and the local environment and to create opportunities for enjoyment, self-expression and relaxation in the outdoors.
Over the course of the two days we were guided through a range of creative methods used by the InsideOUT team to reconnect people with the forest. We began our first day learning about the project from Nikki and going out to visit some of the community developed artworks that have been installed near the Bracelands Adventure Centre (see to the left). |
We then dedicated the rest of our first day to getting some first-hand experience of one of the crafts that intertwined humans with trees in economic and creative relationships for thousands of years - wood carving. Guided by Dave Jackson from Wildwood Coppice Crafts, we learned the basics of carving wooden spoons by working with green cherry tree wood.
Our central aim was to learn more about the traditional crafts developed by those making their livelihoods with and from the forest and to also explore the sensory experiences that arise from working with wood to create new objects. Many of us noticed the different rhythms this produced in our conversations and general sense of self. In contrast to the standard research seminar, these 'conversations' involved a focused concentration on our individual projects, intersected by relaxed companionable observations and even some attempts at singing. |
|
|
After a lovely day chopping, carving and smoothing in the Douglas fir plantation, we spent the early evening at the Cyril Hart Aboretum near Cinderford visiting with the collection of over 200 different tree species.
The next day we worked with Sarah Sawyer, exploring more of the methods used by InsideOUT. This included
|
After lunch we spent some time individually processing our experience of these activities by taking a self-narrated walk (for a discussion of this method see here). This led each of us out from the farmhouse that was our base and into the forest to reflect on the variety of 'conversations' we'd had over the few days spent in the Forest of Dean. Upon our return we spent a couple of hours reflecting together about the nature of conversation, affect, agency, participation and language games, asking whether we might be trying to compel things to talk to us rather than focusing on how we need to change so that we can listen better, both to non-humans but also the many humans we continue to talk over and sideline.
Thanks to Nikki, Sarah, Dave for working with us to explore these questions and to the Forest of Dean for simply being there. Thanks also to Richard Coles for organising the workshop.
Thanks to Nikki, Sarah, Dave for working with us to explore these questions and to the Forest of Dean for simply being there. Thanks also to Richard Coles for organising the workshop.