Collage and Zine-Making

After tracing along the BearWatch project for about two years, visiting Gjoa Haven twice and Coral Harbour three times, I had substantial notes, recordings, observations and literature to conduct an explorative exercise of meaning-making with. I decided to employ the creative method of collaging to conduct an initial analysis. My goal of this exercise was to figure out if any emergent themes and new connections and relationships would reveal themselves by employing this methodology.

Collaging is in essence about encounter and about the reconfiguring of meaning and matter when elements are brought together in new and unexpected ways. For me it was a way to see how all the material that had emerged through my responsive encounters in the communities and while thinking from the road in the South, related to the boundaries and the possibilities of ethical research practices (including knowledge conciliation) in accordance with the Ethical Space of Engagement (Ermine, 2007).

I ended up converting my collages into a shareable zine which I scanned and made digitally accessible below. I also printed 60 black and white copies for distribution to project partners and community collaborators. A very small edition of colour copies was kept for personal use.

Zine tactile/text/ure by gingertheworld

The collaging and zine-making activity brought into focus new ways of thinking about making space. Follow the detour to cut 2, to read more about an artistic intervention I designed, based on my new insights. "Keep going" to follow along with the next BearWatch project activities. The project is coming to an end, and the next two trips will be focussed on preparing and executing the final BearWatch workshops in both communities.

Detour Cut 2: Point of Beginning Mx. Science