Afield
2022— current
Afield is an ongoing multi-media project– consisting of paintings, drawings, sculpture and poetry– that center on the agency, vitality and mystery of other animals. The work derives drawings and written documentation of artistic research that I conducted in 2022 at four sites of human-animal interaction in Sweden. The animal subjects of the works are all individuals encountered at the sites, and while the human is not visible in the works, the human gaze is implied. Using ambiguity to evoke the specific quality of each animal’s presence, Afield creates a contemplative space for viewers to engage with questions, rather than answers, about what it means to care for and care about the lives of other animals through proximity and distance.
A track
Site 1: Above the arctic circle
A box
Site 2: Cognitive zoology research lab
Captive alligators, who are tested on by researchers to see if they possess “higher” forms of cognition
A mark
Site 3: Wildlife research station
Wild boar, who are “marked” and studied by biologists as a pest species deemed a threat to agriculture
A ring
Site 4: Conservation ringing station
Migratory songbirds, who are trapped and “ringed” to collect data for conservation
