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 see if any emergent themes, new connections and relationships would reveal themselves.

Zine

I ended up converting my collages into a shareable zine.

I printed 60 black and white copies for distribution to project partners and community collaborators, a very small edition of colour copies for personal use.

I also scanned it to make it digitally accessible:

Zine tactile/text/ure by gingertheworld

The collaging and zine-making activity brought into focus new ways of thinking about positionality and the roles and response-ability of westerns cientists.

"Detour" to cut 2 to read more about an artistic intervention I designed based on these new insights.

Or,

"Keep Going" to follow along with the next BearWatch project activities.

Detour to Cut 2: Point of Beginning Mx. Science

Fall 2022 Coral Harbour

The project is coming to an end.

To prepare for the final workshops the project had scheduled 10 days for me in Coral Harbour and 14 days in Gjoa Haven.

Part of this trip was meant to set up a relationship with the school, as per the original terms of collaboration between Coral Harbour and the BearWatch project.

"Detour", straight to the final workshop in Coral Harbour.

Or,

"Keep Going" to learn about my visits to the school in Coral Harbour

Detour to Cut 2:Coral Harbour Workshop

School Visits

I was invited by the teacher who I had met during my previous visits (Lisa Marie Thomas) to spent three consecutive days in her grade 4 class.

During those days, I introduced myself, got to know the students and shared information about my homecountry; the Netherlands.

BearWatch co-PI Peter van Coeverden de Groot joined for the 3rd day and taught a short lesson on polar bear monitoring.

This third day was also used to pilot a "persona" I intended to introduce at the final workshops; A more-than-human, playful fictional character called Mx. Science.

Detour to Cut 2 to learn more about Mx. science, or "Keep Going"

Detour to cut 2: Learn more about "Mx. Science"

Wayfaring Calendar Pilot

Although Leonard was not much available to prepare the final workshop with me, he did connect me to three experienced hunters of the community to conduct a participatory mapping exercise with.

We collaborated on developing a pilot interview guide that engages IQ through a focus on process, values, and land-based ways of doing/being, rather than outcomes or measurable data.

The resulting interview guide focusses on understanding the practice and processes of decision-making while navigating main routes and tracks across Southampton island. This information was gathered with the purpose of developing a polar bear monitoring specific calendar based approach to ethical knowledge conciliation in Southampton Island.

I conducted an initial data-processing exercise, after 4 pilot interviews by creating a paper prototype of a wayfaring calendar.

which is where our collaboration ended...

Paper Prototype by author. Based on 4 pilot mapping exercises

Another Point of Beginning; Wayfaring Method

You have reached "Another Point of Beginning". These are not conclusive endings to my research, but rather perform at the cusp of emergence: They are a story so-far.

This journey is always partial, and so are the insights we have built on our way. You can trace the path you have taken through this Knowledge-Land-Scape by clicking the "trace" bar in the upper right corner of your screen. It will allow you to account for some of the insights that your journey has given you.

The map below shows you the full extent of wayfaring possibilities of the scape.

In this case you have reached a story-so-far when it comes to the collaboration between Leonard Netser and the BearWatch project on the CIRNAC grant.

While strong relationships might manage to bridge funding cycles, they are also subject to the im/possibilities of the research landscape and it apparatuses.

My collaboration with Leonard has resulted in a prototype wayfaring calendar of the Southampton Island route to Qaquutaap, however we haven't been able to revisit its potential to contribute to ethical research relationships in a Southampton Island wise polar bear survey.

Beyond the Cut

As you might see, it looks like cut 3 has several ongoing tracks.

The wayfaring pilot was not developed further after the making the paper prototype in spring of 2022, in respect for Leonard's wishes to not further collaboration with the Bearwatch project.

However, the insights that emerged from the mapping interviews, the making of the prototype, the moments that Leonard Netser took me out on the land, and our conversations, have fed further into my thinking about knowledge, and the design of this knowledge-land-scape as an extended sight for audiences to engage with my research.

It has helped me to think about wayfaring as a method to think with-, and as a potential method to think-with-others.

Such thinking would have undoubtedly have been much richer than it currently is, would Leonard and I have found another opening to continue our conversations. I am nevertheless thankful for our conversations so far.

"Keep Going" with Cut 3. Travel to Gjoa Haven to prepare for the final BearWatch workshop there.

Ice-pressure ridge: Arctic Travel