WANDERLINESMythodologicalEscapism

MURMURLANDSTUDIOS

MURMURLANDSTUDIOS

WANDERLINESMythodologicalEscapism

TheMurmurLandStudioscuratorialcollectivewouldliketobeginbyacknowledgingthatthelandonwhichwegatherfortheWanderLinesfieldschoolistheuncededtraditionalterritoryoftheCoastSalishpeoples,specificallytheSnuneymuxwFirst

Nation,aCoastSalishpeoplewholiveonVancouverIslandandspeaktheHul'qumi'numdialect.NewcastleIslandMarineProvincialPark

ispartofSnuneymuxwFirstNationTraditionalTerritory.

“NewcastleIslandorSaysutshunhasalwayshadaspecialplaceintheheartsofSnuneymuxwpeopleormustiyuxw.Ithasbeenusedasaplaceofhealing.Whensomeonehadpassedawayinthecommunity,thelovedoneswouldgotoNewcastleislandtoyu’thuy’thuttofixuptheirheart,mindandbodyandletgooftheirtears.”

AstheeventparticipantsofWanderLineswefurtheracknowledgethatwearevisitorspassingthroughthistraditionalterritory,endeavouringtowalkwithgentlefootstepsandinterweaveanumberofcares:careforothers,careforself,carefortheevent,and

mostimportantly,careforthelandandwater.

ElementemporalStorying:AProposition

WANDERLUST

Curvedlines.Tempolines.Entangledlines.Wovenlines.Staccatolines.Musicallines.Dirtlines.Forgotten lines. Spiral lines. Irrational lines. Forked lines. Tree lines. Coast lines. Tide lines.Geological lines. Textured lines. Blood lines. Phantom lines. Animal lines. Posthuman lines.Blindlines.Scanlines.Realitylines.Scriptlines.Plotlines.Guidelines.Phonelines.Timelines.WanderLines.Before we wander too far, perhaps a note on the subtitle of our gathering:MythodologicalEscapism. Mythod is not so much a line, but an approach to line-making, line-taking, line-following,orline-listening—atonceanintensivemovementanditsownprocessualknotting.A mythodology proceeds in multiple directions without claiming an origin or end point. Amythodisnotabuildingblockofformulatedprocedures—formsuponformsuponforms—butrather a continuous movement of forces, inflections, and switchbacks. A mythodologicalprocessfollowsagravitationalpullofattractors.Eachcriticalpointbecomesaninflectionpointthat changes the direction of the curve or the direction of the creative path; the emergentproperties,variationsofintensitiesandcriticalpointsthatchangethespaceofthecreativeact.Amythodologicalapproach isalwaysanuntimely feltevent thatdirects thecreativeact toanewhorizonnotyetimagined.Itoffersanescaperouteforroutineprocedures.Athoughtisjustalinetakingflight.

ESCAPISM

Remakingtoescapetherootednessofknowledge.Imagineescape.Imaginingsarealwaysescaping.Slipthroughthecracks.Artfulopeningspromptnewpathways.Reconfigureregularlytoavoidhabituation.Howmightwetakeaccountofinheritancewhenbuildinganew?Thisrequiresatopologyofthought,attuningtoacertainkindof(non)senseinourmaking.Howtoescapewhencaughtbyourownnature?Reviseourconceptionsofnature.Storytellingisessentialforsurvival.

COMPLEMENTARITY(ANETYMOLOGICALAPPROACH)

complex(adj.)1650s, "composed of parts," from French complexe "complicated, complex, intricate" (17c.),from Latin complexus "surrounding, encompassing," past participle of complecti "to encircle,embrace," in transferred use, "to hold fast,master, comprehend," from com "with, together"(seecom-)+plectere"toweave,braid,twine,entwine,"fromPIE*plek-to-,suffixedformofroot*plek-"toplait."Themeaning"noteasilyanalyzed"isfirstrecorded1715.Complexsentenceisattestedfrom1881.simple(adj.)c.1200,"freefromduplicity,upright,guileless;blameless,innocentlyharmless,"also"ignorant,uneducated; unsophisticated; simple-minded, foolish," from Old French simple (12c.) "plain,decent;friendly,sweet;naive,foolish,stupid,"hence"wretched,miserable,"fromLatinsimplusfromPIEcompound*sm-plo-,fromroot*sem-(1)"one;asone,togetherwith"+*-plo-"-fold."Senseof"free frompride,humble,meek" ismid-13c.As"consistingofonlyonesubstanceoringredient" (opposite of composite or compounded) it dates from late 14c.; as "easily done"(oppositeofcomplicated)itdatesfromlate15c.Frommid-14c.as"unqualified;mere;sheer;"also"clear,straightforward;easilyunderstood."From late 14c. as "single, individual;whole." From late 14c. of clothing, etc., "modest, plain,unadorned," and of food, "plain, not sumptuous." In medicine, of fractures, etc., "lackingcomplications,"late14c.Asalawterm,"lackingadditionallegalstipulations,unlimited,"frommid-14c.In Middle English with wider senses than recently, such as "inadequate, insufficient; weak,feeble; mere; few; sad, downcast; mournful; of little value; low in price; impoverished,destitute;"ofhair,"straight,notcurly."Asnoun,"aninnocentoraguilelessperson;ahumbleormodest person" (late 14c.), also "an uncompounded substance." From c. 1500 as "ignorantpeople."

ARTANDGEOPHILOSOPHY

“When one’s ecological art practice becomes more open, more co-compositional, moreaboutlistening as a gestural praxisrather than domination, things literally seem to fall intoplace.Thisdoesnotmeanthereisnoworktobedone,however,butthatallelementsachieveacertainsympathytotheprocessofthecreation-event,or that its frictionshavebecomegreatlyreducedbythelistening.Thetaskforthispracticeofleastresistance,then,istounderstandtherelation oftime spentwith a work and its milieu, not as marker of economic value but asadequacyorappropriatenesstothecreation-eventproper.Itisnotefficiencythatweseekheresomuchassimplicityoreleganceofgesture,whichistosaystyle.Itisalsotobegthequestionofarelationshipbetweentimeandhumility.”

(GadFleischwitz,ArtandEcology,2014)

SIMPLEXITY

Itistemptingtomakeasimplecontrastbetweenthatwhichis,well,simple,versusthatwhichiscomplex,asiftheyweresimplyoppositesofoneanother:adesignofthissortoftenjustifiesthe creation of rigid strata between thosewho are rather simple and those capable ofmorecomplexbehaviourorthelike,theformerbeingdecidedlymoremundaneandundesirablethanthelatter.But of course this is not the case: both ‘simple’ and ‘complex’ are exceedingly elusive anddifficult to attainwith any sort of sophistication; it is nearly as easy to fashion ‘incomplete’(ratherthansimple)or‘convoluted’(ratherthancomplex)inourprocessesandtechniquesofgeneratingknowledge.Letuspropose theneed for simplexity!Neither-nor, thesimplexcannotbecontainedby themonikers simple or complex, because it exists at, because of, and through an etymologicalbifurcationpointfromcenturiesago:namely,theplaitorfold.Do we not require strategies for simplexity in an age of shortened attention spans, memecontagion patterns, and generalized information oversaturation (not to mention itsaccompanyinganxiety)?Bywhichwemeanmodelsofsimplicitythatunfoldtoverycomplexunderstandings?Revisitingtheetymologyofthecomplementarityabove,thetermssimpleandcomplexofferusmuch suggestive material to consider: weaving, the one and multiple, foolishness, humility,intricacy,encircling,andmore.Couldthesehelpguideusindevelopingstrategiesandtacticsofsimplexityforamythodologicalpraxis?

FIGURE/GROUNDREVISITED

A fabulation is not the same as an abstraction, neither in degree nor in kind. Rather, afabulation—at leastwhenpractisedethically—makesallabstractions intoseriousplaythings,forming a sort of 'concreteness' which in turn is renderedmalleable or plastic. And in thismalleability one also begins towrestwriggle room from the shackles of orderly time.Moreimportantly, the fabulation—at least when practised ethically—reaches right through allabstractionstofashionconnectionswiththeland,whichistosaywiththebody,whichistosaywiththeworld.Andso:Howdowebegintoconsideranethicalpracticeoffabulation?

THESEARENOTRECIPESORROUTINES

Primingfortheconditionsofjoyfulsurvivalmeansenactingcarefortheself,therelation,theland,andtheevent:Attune.Listen.Relate.Deviate.Pattern.Listen.Attune.Repeat3x.

+++SIM(imitationofaprocessorstateofaffairs;subscriberidentitymodule/simcard)IMP(OldEnglishimpe,‘youngshoot,graft,’fromimpian‘tograft,’probablyanearlyGermanicborrowing from Vulgar Latin *imptus, from Late Latin impotus ‘implanted,’ from Greekemphytos,verbaladjective formed fromemphyein ‘implant,’ fromem- ‘in’+phyein ‘tobringforth,makegrow,’ fromPIE root *bheue- ‘tobe, exist, grow.’ CompareSwedishymp,Danishympe"graft."Thesenseofthewordhasshiftedfromplantstopeople,viathemeaning"child,offspring"(late14c.,nowobsolete),fromthenotionof"newness."Thecurrentmeaning"littledevil" is attested from 1580s, from common pejorative phrases such as imp of Satan. Theextensionfromthisto"mischievousorpertchild"(1640s)unconsciouslyturnsthewordbacktowarditsMiddleEnglishsense.LEX(theLatinwordfor"law"or"statute")EXIT----------------->Y?

ANOTEABOUTTHISTEXT

Mythodologists never reveal their process. Mythodology is never inscribed, recorded,rehearsed.Itisnotperformedonthepagebutintheactofdoing.Anotherfriendlyreminder:Youwill not findmythodology textbooks at your local university bookstore nor should youwant to. No text can exist.We are alive. So use your immanentmyth-making practices andinventtheeventofyourownmythodtobecome-termite.Itmaybecometheonlyethicalthingwecando.

AprilVanniniIrregularKaleidoscope

2015

NotesontheSpecificityofSenseLab'sResearch-CreationEvent-DesignPractice,asDistinguishedfroman

ArtEvent,anAcademicMeeting,oranActivistProject

(reprintedandadaptedcourtesyofBrianMassumiandErinManning,October2013)

ENABLINGCONSTRAINTvs.FRAMEWORKORSTRUCTURE

An enabling constraint is a jumping-off point, more a springboard than a structure. Theconstraints create a field of relation that effectively enables and orients activity withoutgoverninghow itunfoldsorpredeterminingeither its formorspecific content.Example: thefieldofgravityistheenablingconstraintfordance,butdanceisnotframedorstructuredbyit.Rather,dancingconvertsthepredictable,inescapabledemandsofgravityintoacreativeforcefor its own form-taking, tangential to gravity’s pull. Enabling constraints put in placeconditionsforemergence,tangentiallyexceedingtheframeinaself-structuringwaythatisonewithitsownunfoldingmovement.Observation:forenablingconstraintstowork,theymustbetakenontrulyasconstraints—that is,asnon-optional, justasgravity is fordance.Challenge:settinginplaceconstraintsthattrulyconstrain,aredirectlytakenonbythegroupassuch,butarejustasimmediatelyfelttobeconditionsoffreedom(emergent,self-deciding,form-taking).

CONDITIONINGvs.ORGANIZING

Enablingconstraintssetinplacearigorousfieldofrelationorientingcertainkindsofpotential.Whattheydoisbestthoughtofas‘conditioning,’ratherthan‘organizing’.Organizingsetstheframe,whichthencontainstheactionswithincertainparameters.Conditioningtriggersaself-organizingmovementthatinventsitsownparameters.

ACTIVATINGvs.INITIATING

Initiatingcarriestheideaofapre-existingsubjectwhoseintentionsarecarriedout.Evenifthesubjectisagroupdecidingcollectivelywhatitsintentionsare,theintentionalitytendstolimitwhat emerges to that which can be pre-thought. Activation catalyzes a movement that isconstrainedto takerigorous formbyhowthe fieldofrelation isconditioned.Themovementthinks itself out in how it effectively unfolds. It is its own emergent subject. The arc of itsunfoldingisthedynamic,embodied‘thinking’ofitsconditionsofemergence.Theresult,beingemergent, always surprises (exceeding any initiating intention thatmayhave contributed tothe catalyzing). This is what Erin refers to as an ‘emergent collectivity’—collective becausewhathappenscannotbeclaimedtohavebeencausedororganizedbyanyonefactorseparablefromtheothers,butratherhasdynamicallyworkeditselfoutbetweenthem.

RELATIONALMOVEMENTvs.PARTICIPATIONORINTERACTION

Theideaofparticipationsinglesoutanindividualfactor,andconstruestherelevantfactorsashuman individuals. It sets in place a frame for interaction. This pre-subjectivizes, and pre-forms what can happen (by designing into the framework certain stimulus-responsefunctions).Bycontrast,relationalmovementincludesamongthecreativefactors(andenablingconstraints) non-human elements (gravity, lakes, pixels, technological apparatuses, siteconditions,materials,bears…)anddoesnotthinkintermsoffunctionorstimulus/responseoraction/reaction. Participatory design always comes across as task-oriented. Theparticipantsstartbyreceivinginstructions,orsussingoutwhatisexpectedofthemandwhatthefunctionalparametersoftheirtaskis.Relationalmovementstartsbytheclinchingintoplaceofenablingconstraintsthatimmediatelytranslateintomovement.Itisnottask-oriented,butimmediatelymoving (in all senses of theword). There is no need for cogitation before plunging into theaction. You have already taken the plunge the moment you cross the threshold into therelationalfield(hencetheimportanceoftechniquesforsettingthethresholdconditions).

PROPOSITIONvs.INSTRUCTIONS

ThisdistinctionisreallyamovementtowardstakingonArakawa+Gins’ideaof‘procedure’.ApropositioninthesenseusedduringearlierSenseLabeventshasbeenasasynonymfor‘usingenabling constraints to trigger conditions of emergence activating self-organizing potential’.This isobviouslyverydifferent fromgiving instructions thatproposean interaction.But thetrickypartisthatinstructionscaninfactbeenablingconstraints.Perhapsa‘procedure’couldbethoughtofapropositionthatincludesinstructionsamongitsenablingconstraints.Question:howtouseinstructionsinthispropositionalsense,inawaythatdoesnotframeorstructureaninteraction,buthelpstriggerarelationalmovement?[--->Curatorialnote:think‘DEPROGRAM’]

TECHNIQUEvs.ACTIVITY

Atechniqueisbornofanenablingconstraint.Itopensaprocesstoitspotential. Indoingso,itinvents itsownduration.Anactivityusuallycomeswithadurationandanarc,andisplayedoutacrossthatarc.Emergentcollectivitiesstemfromactivitiesbornoftechniques.Fortheevent-designthathasbeenattheheartofSenseLabpractice,wehavealwaysbeenmoreconcernedwith creating the conditions that animate the threshold of a potential activity rather thandefining thebreadthof theactivity itself.Whenanactivity isborn fromthepotentializingoftechnique (think, for instance, of conceptual speed-dating, born out of the necessity for atechnique thatwouldallowus tomove fromsmall-group to large-group theorizing, andviceversa), it carrieswith it both the technique and the enabling constraint (inpotentia),whichallows it (in the best of conditions) to evolve beyond the technique (towardwhat we havecalledtechnicity).Bynotmappingouttheactivityinadvance,thereisalargeropportunityforanemergentprocesstoevolve.

GadFleischwitzandJaquiBarnTimepiece2013

Florilegium:AnInterleaving

“Amniotechnicsistheartofholdingandcaringevenwhilebeingrippedinto,atthesametimeas beingheld. It is protectingwater andprotectingpeople fromwater. Iwant a generalizedpraxisofthis,whichdoesn'tforgettheimportanceofholdingmothersandthwartedmothersand, yes, even wannabe 'single fathers,' afloat in the juice; breathing but hydrated; well-watered but dry. I hope it is possible even for fantasists of ectogenetic progeny, likeFrankenstein, who have dreamed of a birth unsullied by a womb, to become capableamniotechniciansintime.Theirworldviewsmaynotholdwater,butIthinktheytoohavetobeheld.Itispossibleforanyofustolearnthatitistheholders—notthedelusional'authors,'self-replicators and 'patenters'—who truly people the world. 'Water management' may soundunexciting,butIsuspectitcontainsthesecretstothekinmakingpracticesofthefuture.”

(SophieLewis,'Amniotechnics',TheNewInquiry,2017)“Whenawomanrefusestosupportthedrycollective,sherefusestostopherwildthinking,andheractionsfollowaccordingly.‘TheRedShoes’inessenceteachesthatthewildpsychemustbeproperlyprotected—byunequivocallyvaluing itourselves,byspeakingout in its interest,byrefusingtosubmittopsychicunhealth.Wealsolearnthatthewild,becauseofitsenergyandbeauty, isalwayseyed by somebody or other, something to be reduced, altered, ruled on,murdered,redesigned,orcontrolled.Thewildalwaysneedsaguardianatthegate,oritwillbemisused.”

(ClarissaPinkolaEstes,WomenWhoRunWiththeWolves,1992)“The word ‘imagination’ is reminiscent of the psychology of the faculties. However, it isvaluableinthatitassumesmentalimagescomefromacertainpower,expressanactivitythatforms them, and perhaps presuppose the existence of a function that employs them.On theotherhand,theterm"imagination"canbemisleadingbecauseitassignsimagestothesubjectthatproducesthem,andtendstoexcludethehypothesisofaprimitiveexteriorityofimagesinrelation to the subject. This is the current attitude of contemporary thinkers for whom theimageisattributedtoan‘imagizingconsciousness,’touseSartre'sphrase.Butwhyexcludeasillusorythecharactersbywhichanimageresistsfreewill,refusestoallowitselftobedirectedbythewillofthesubject,andpresentsitselfbywayofitsownforces,inhabitingconsciousnessasanintruderthatdisturbstheorderofthehousewhereitisnotinvited?”

...“…Thesymbol...maintainsananalyticrelationwiththesymbolized.Symbolsgoinpairs,whichis to say thata symbol is a fragmentof aprimordialwholewhichwasdividedbywayof anaccidentalline.Whenreconciled,thetwosymbols,whicharecomplementary,reconstitutetheprimitive unity. Each symbol tends toward the other symbol, deriving meaning from thereunionwithitscomplement.Initially,symbolsweretwofragmentsofasinglesplitobject,asin the rite of hospitality relations in which a stone was broken, each family preserved andpassed on to their descendants the received fragment, and the reunion of the fragmentsauthenticated the relation.Therapport thatexistsbetween thekeyand the lock is thesamekindofrelation.Akeywithoutalock,oralockwithoutakey,isn’tacompletereality.Thetwobecomemeaningfulbybeingreunited….Thisprimitivemeaning,whichisalsothestrongsense,is found when a symbolic word is a rallying cry, permitting the authentication of all thosebelongingtoagroup.”

(GilbertSimondon,ImaginationetInvention[1965-1966],2008)“Afterthewaterthrushtherewasonlysilence.Understand from the first this certainty. Butterflies don’t write books, neither do lilies orviolets.Whichdoesn’tmeantheydon’tknow,intheirownway,whattheyare.Thattheydon’tknowtheyarealive—thattheydon’tfeel,thatactionuponwhichallconsciousnesssits,lightlyor heavily. Humility is the prize of the leaf-world. Vain-glory is the bane of us, the humans.Sometimes thedesire tobe lostagain,as longago,comesoverwe likeavapor.Withgrowthintoadulthood,responsibilitiesclaimedme,somanyheavycoats.Ididn’tchoosethem,Idon’tfault them,but it took time to reject them.Now in the spring I kneel, I putmy face into thepacketsofviolets, thedampness,thefreshness,thesenseofever-ness.Somethingiswrong,Iknow it, if Idon’tkeepmyattention toeternity.May Ibe the tiniestnail in thehouseof theuniverse, tiny but useful. May I stay forever in the stream. May I look down upon thewindflowerandthebullthistleandthecoreopsiswiththegreatestrespect.”

(MaryOliver,Upstream,2016)“Bicycling and walking offer unique entry into exploration itself. Landscape, the builtenvironment,ordinaryspacethatsurroundstheadultexplorer,issomethingnotmeanttobeinterpreted,toberead,tobeunderstood.Itisneitheramuseumgallerynoratelevisionshow.Unlikealmosteverythingelsetowhichadultsturntheirattention,theconcatenationofnaturalandbuilt formsurroundingtheexplorer is fundamentallymysteriousandoftenmaddeninglycomplex. Exploring it first awakens the dormant resiliency of youth, the easywillingness to

admitmakingawrongturnandgoingbackablock,thecomfortableunderstandingthatsomeexplorationstakemorethananafternoon,thecertainknowledgethatlotsofthingsinthewideworldjustdownthestreetmakenoimmediatesense.Butexploringnotonlyawakensattitudesandskillsmadedormantbyprogrammededucation,jobs,andthehecticdashfromdrycleanertogrocerystoretodentist.Itsharpenstheskillsandmakesexplorersrealizethatalltheskillsacquiredinprobingandpokingatordinaryspace,everythingfromnoticingnuancesinhousepainttoseeinggreatgeographicalpatternsfromahilltopalmostnoonebotherstoclimb,arecross-trainingfordealingthevicissitudesoflife.Exploringordinarylandscapesharpensalltheskillsofexploration.”

(JohnStillgoe,OutsideLiesMagic:RegainingHistoryandAwarenessinEverydayPlaces,1998)

“I'vebeendedicated towhat I call ‘themythicnews,’ thatmythology is suffusing thesecularand animating it. …let’s say myth is a metaphoric animation of the intrinsic intelligence ofnature…Andmetaphoristheincarnationalgarbwherebypowerenterstheworld.It’sthekindofinvitation,theframebeingthat‘co-operatorsarestandingby,buttheyrequireaninvitation.’…thefunction…oftheartistwithinus…istoinvitein.Intheastrologicallanguage,Venussayswedon’thavetosourceeverything.Wedon’thavetoevenknowwhattodo,ortobewiseorperfect,butinsteadtoinviteitin,going,‘Comeonin!’Thededication thatsays, ‘Liveas though thedesirablestorywere true,’andourassignment,really,toanimate,magnetize,andspiralforthintothememosphere…themostirresistiblyall-inclusive story, going ‘Come!…Weneedeverybody’s awakened imagination!’ and to frolic intherealmofculture,toinsistthatthehealingofhumans’relationshiptonaturebethecenterconversationinwhatpassesforpublicdiscourse....ourdedicationmagnetizesopportunity,wehumanshaveunleashedsuchhorrificrudenessonthisbeautifulplanetthatwe,byourselves,cannotresolveit—indeed,it’sbyourselvesthatwegotintothispickle.It’sthecollaborativemodel....aworkingdefinitionofmagicissimplyawillingnesstocooperatewitheverything!…whatIcall ‘democratic animism’ ...the willingness to cooperate with everything, the coyotes, thewolves,thequalityofintelligencethatwereachasaspecies,thequalityofplayfulhumility,andto drawupon the rich resources ofmythology and also all actual animals and plants, going,‘Twodropsofcoyotemedicineandoneofraven.’...whatmetabolizespoisononeverylevel,iscertainlywhatwewanttocallintoplay....to react to anything is to carry around a portable prison for one's self and for others. Tocultivate an ever-larger repertoire of responses is to ally ourselves with nature's ingeniousevolutionarydrive,which,inastrology,wecall‘Uranus,theTrickster.’

Startwiththedesirablevision,thestorythatcouldengageeveryone,ratherthan...‘realism,’therealm of the Reality Police that… patrols the borders of imagination…If we start with thedesirablevision,thenavenuesofingenioussynchronicityopenup.Righteousindignationisafuelthatservesempire,andso,regardlessofwhatwecallourselves,ifwe’re finger-waggingrighteous,we’reservingempire,andwe’reservingthe finitegameoftheRealityPolice.…we’reinastorytellingcreation…everythingistalkingtousallthetimebyitsshape,itscolor,its song, its rhythm. And if we humans just approach the world with informed, reverentcuriosity,we’dbebackinthecahooting,cavortingdance.We live inasymboliccreation,everything isreal,andeverything issymbolic…That’spartofourdynamic: towedwhathasbeen falsely estranged…Pragmatismandmysticism love eachother! Science and mythology and reverie and spirituality love each other! These are falsedivorces.”

(ExcerptsfromtranscribedinterviewofCarolineCaseybyTamiSimonofSoundsTrue,July2011)

“All life, regardless of its form, classification or reputation,will respond to genuine interest,respect,appreciation,admiration,affection,gentleness,courtesy,goodmanners.”

(J.AllenBoone,KinshipWithAllLife,1976/1954)“The act of crossing space stems from the natural necessity to move to find the food andinformationrequiredforsurvival.Butoncethesebasicneedshavebeensatisfied,walingtakesonasymbolicformthathasenabledmantodwellintheworld.Bymodifyingthesenseofthespacecrossed,walkingbecomesman'sfirstaestheticact,penetratingtheterritoriesofchaos,constructinganorderonwhichtodevelopthearchitectureofsituatedobjects. Walking isanartfromwhoseloinsspringthemenhir,sculpture,architecture,landscape.Thissimpleactionhas given rise to the most important relationships man has established with the land, theterritory.”

(FrancescoCareri,Walkscapes:WalkingasanAestheticPractice,2004)

“4000A.D.WhenscienceandartareentirelymeltedtogethertosomethingnewWhenthepeoplewillhavelosttheirremembranceandthuswillhavenopast,onlyfuture.WhentheywillhavetodiscovereverythingeverymomentagainandagainWhentheywillhavelosttheirneedforcontactwithothers…Thentheywillliveinaworldofonlycolour,light,space,time,soundsandmovementThencolourlightspacetimesoundsandmovementwillbefreeNomusicNotheatreNoartNoTherewillbesound

ColourLightSpaceTimeMovement.”

(StanleyBrouwn,AShortManifesto,1964)

“Dreamingof islands—whetherwith joyor in fear, itdoesn’tmatter—isdreamingofpullingaway, of being already separate, far from any continent, of being lost and alone—or it isdreamingofstartingfromscratch,recreating,beginninganew.Someislandsdriftedawayfromthecontinent,buttheislandisalsothattowardwhichonedrifts;otherislandsoriginatedintheocean,buttheislandisalsotheorigin,radicalandabsolute.”

(GillesDeleuze,‘DesertIslands’,inDesertIslandsandOtherTexts,1953-1974,2004)

“Could it thenbe thatanimalsonlymovemebecause that'showIknow it fromthemovies?Showme animations with animals that talk, act, cry, argue, dance, laugh or die and I'll becaptivatedandmovedtolaughterortears; itworksinaninstant.Butwhywouldanimationsworksowellif itwasn'tforthefactthattheytapintotheintuitiveknowledgeandemotional

capacitiesthatconstitutetheanimistapproachtotheworld:ourreadinesstoseetherealityofoursurroundingsimbuedwithananima,asoul,thatis,toperceiveitfullyliterallyasanimated(inGermanIwouldwrite"beseelt":besouled).Ifanimismstillremainspresentasasubstratumof our experience of the world, then maybe this is because it really testifies to somethingfundamental:asenseofconnectednesstooursurroundings,anawarenessofbeinginastateofoverallanimationtogetherwithwhat there isbeyondourselves:Anexuberantseasponge inshorts,abuccaneermousewithphilosophicalviews,oraresourcefulbandofpenguins,assillyas they may be, then represent the surviving ambassadors of a capacity to experience theworldspiritually.”

(JanVerwoert,‘Animalisms’,inART&RESEARCH:AJournalofIdeas,ContextsandMethods.Vol.4.No.1,Summer2011)

“There aremanyworlds to experience beyond socially accepted versions of reality.When aperson is tapped into the multi dimensional nature of our existence and our own creativepower,miraclesareordinary,and theordinary isamiracle.Wecandecidewhatwewish toexperience and assign it our ownmeaning or value. Thewaywe envision theworld in ourinnerspacemanifestsinthemalleableenergyoftheouterworld.Manyofusareshiftingourbeliefs toanewvisionof aworldwhereallbeings live inharmonious connectionwitheachotherandthemagicofcommunicationwithalllifeisthenorm.Letitbeso.”

(PenelopeSmith,SpeciesLinkmagazine,Winter2002)

“Cloudspass,thinorthick,withsomedisturbanceofthecolourofthegradsbeneath.Thesun-dialregistersthehourinitsusualcrypticway.One'smindbeginstossingupaquestionortwo,idly,vainly,aboutthissamelife.Life,itsings,orcroonsrather,likeakettleonahob.Life,life,whatartthou?Lightordarkness,thebaizeapronoftheunderfootmanortheshadowofthestarlingonthegrass?”

(VirginiaWoolf,Orlando:ABiography,1928)“Thequestionofpastoralcutstothecoreofcraft'spotentialasaculturalinstrument.Towhatextent does craft constitute an opportunity for real creative freedom, in which critique,perspective and individualism can flourish? And, conversely, to what extent is it simply aUtopian prop, a story we tell ourselves to assuage our anxieties in an increasingly fluid,technological society? This dilemma cuts across all cultural contexts for craft. A communeemphasizesprocessandexperienceoverproductandaesthetics;amuseum, thereverse.But

howshouldcraftbegroundedatthesetwositeseconomically,geographically,andspiritually?Onwhatgroundsshoulditbeencouraged,bywhatstandardsjudged?”

(GlennAdamson,ThinkingThroughCraft,2007)“DURINGTHE1960SANDEARLY1970sazealouscounterculturalback-tothe-landmovementemerged in North America. As environmental concerns captured the interests of more andmore Americans, the counter-culturalists who ventured back to the land identified withtraditional environmental activists and their concurrent efforts to preserve and protect thenaturalworld.Inreality,theirturntopastoralmythosandpracticesrevealedthecomplicatednatureofpostwarenvironmentalthought.Thosewhovoluntarilywentbacktothelandcreateda reciprocal relationship with the natural world, where living a self-reliant rural existencemight have as much of an influence on the naturally attuned individual as the soleenvironmentalactivistcouldonpreservingandprotectingnature.Whileenvironmentalactivistsheldcommongroundinrethinkinghumaninteractionswiththenaturalworld,thegrowingAmericanenvironmentalconsciousnessapproachedthoseconcernsthrough a variety of historical lenses. The back-to-the-landmovement turned to a distinctlyAmericanprocessofpastoralmythmaking thatheld the simpleandvirtuous rural farmerasthe antithesis to the metropolitan-industrial order. For back-to-the-landers, a deep-rootedpastoral ideal, often re-cast in popular forms, legitimized the conception of rural life ascontrary to the modern urban existence. Importantly, austere labor within counterculturalcommunes became a tool to cleanse the body of the physical andmentalwoes found in theeconomicandculturalroutinesofacitylivelihood.”

(RyanEdgington,“‘BeReceptivetotheGoodEarth’:Health,Nature,andLaborinCounterculturalBack-to-the-LandSettlements,”AgriculturalHistory,Vol.82,No.3,2008)

“Let us repeat that, in order to grasp phenomenal existence, we must above all avoidconceiving of the phenomenon as a phenomenon of something or for someone. That is theaspect the phenomenon assumewhen, having begun to consider existence byway of someother modality, we encounter it after the fact, for example, in its role as manifestation; orrather, when, having taken it as our point of departure, we attempt (as do thephenomenologists) to bring about a shift toward other existences by referring ontologicalthought and experience to morphematic relations, which are in solidarity with thephenomenon, and which lead from it toward other modes. We only truly conceive of thephenomenoninitsownexistentialtenorwhenwefeelittobemaintainingandpositingallthatcanbesupportedandconsolidatedinit,withit,andthroughittoitselfalong.Anditisinthiscapacity that itappearsasamodelandastandardofexistence….Now,whatdoes itbecomewhen it is put in relation with other modes? Does it retain its proper essence? Does this

essenceremainunchangedwhenitservesasthereferentialtermandfinalconfirmationforabeinginstalledinanothermode?...Canweconceiveofbeingswithoutanyrelationwhatsoevertothephenomenon?Somanyproblemstobeconsideredpresently.”...“Without a doubt, the body holds a privileged role as a necessary intermediary betweenourselvesandtheworld.Butwhatexactlyarethereasonsforthisprivilege?Theystemfromthefactthatitispossibletodeducethebodystartingfromthebasisofthephenomenon.….Theexistence of the body itself is not in fact purely corporeal and physical: it is above all theexpressionoftheobligationofapsychicalexistence,perpetuallyconstrainedtofollowabodyon its terrestrial adventures….Our body is not a fatamorgana. In order to perceive,we areobligedtoplaceourselvesinitspointofview.Itisfirmlyembeddedasaphysicalthinginthecosmosofsuchthings.Butwehavefictivebodiesindreamsandreveries,bodiesincorporatedin illusory cosmicities. This world of imaginaries has for a long time—traditionally inphilosophy—heldapositionofstrategicimportancefortheexistentialproblem.”

(ÉtienneSouriau,TheDifferentModesofExistence,2015)“Affect is the commonplace, labor-intensiveprocessof sensingmodesof livingas they comeinto being. It hums with the background noise of obstinacies and promises, ruts anddisorientations, intensities and resting points. It stretches across real and imaginary socialfields and sediments, linking some kind of everything. This iswhy there is nothing dead orinconsequential in even the flightiestof lifestylesor the starkestof circumstances.The livedspaces and temporalities of home, work, school, blame, adventure, illness, rumination,pleasure,downtime,andreleasearetherhythmsofthepresentasacompositionalevent—onealreadyweightedwiththebuzzofatmosphericfill.Everythingdependson the feelofanatmosphereand theangleorarrival.Anythingcan feellike something you’re in, fully orpartially, comfortably or aspirationally, for goodornot forlong.Acondition,apacing,asceneofabsorption,adream,abeingabandonedbytheworld,aserialimmersioninsomelittleworldyouneverknewwasthereuntilyougotcancer,adog,achild, a hankering … and then the next thing—another little world is suddenly there andpossible.Everythingdependson thedenseentanglementof affect, attention, the senses, andmatter.Alltheworldisabloomspacenow.”

(KathleenStewart,“Afterword:WorldingRefrains”,inGregg,M.,&Seigworth,G.J.(Eds).TheAffectTheoryReader,2010)

"The most promising of interferences, however, appears at the very end ofWhat IsPhilosophy?Here we meet the indiscernible andnon-localized interferencepersonified by achaos people to come. 'Revolution is absolute deterritorialization,' we are told, 'even to thepointwhere this calls foranewearth, anewpeople.' For this revolution tooccur, though, acomplex philosophical maneuver needs to take place. 'The philosopher must becomenonphilosopher.' So what is non-philosophy? Is it, as Stengers argues, a philosophy that'designates the need for an encounter that does not explain, but produces'? Perhaps it is aphilosophy that does not think at all, that only acts. It is only then, when nonphilosophybecomestheearthandpeopleofphilosophy,thatanewshadowappears—onethatseemstooverlapallothershadows.Atthispoint,thereisindeedapotentialshadowofadoubtoverthedistinctness of the three planes. To be sure, although scientists, philosophers, and artists(standing under their respective torn umbrellas) may well think in distinct ways, they areneverthelessindistinctwithregardtothechaosintowhichtheyallplunge.Likethis,then,thechaoticsubmersionsof theoceanbrainbecomeapointofexchange,oraseriesof traversinglines, throughwhich experimentation can emerge in a nonlocation. This exchange does notnecessarilybringaboutaunifyingforcebetweenthethreeplanesbutratherajunctionthroughwhicheachplanepassesonitsway,toandfro,chaos."

(TonySampson,TheAssemblageBrain:SenseMakinginNeuroculture,2017)"Whileit'struethatcephalopodsusetheirinktoescapepotentialpredators,sotoodohumansusetheirvoicestoeludedangerwhentheyscream;suchbehaviordoesnotprecludethefluid'suseformorecomplexcommunication.Inhistreatiseonthevampiresquid,philosopherVilémFlusserdiscussesthisphenomenonwhileexaminingtheculturalrealitiesofcephalopodsasawhole:

Accordingtopopularopinion,octopusesdeploythisfloatingcloudofink,whichtheyshapeinto their own image, simply to mislead their enemies, but there is more to the story.Closerobservation…hasrevealedthattheactofsculptingthesepiacloudhasnothingtodowiththeenemies,andthat,beyondself-portraits,theyfabricatecountlessotherformsthatareindecipherabletous.

Inotherwords, there isevidence foramoresophisticated formofoctopus language,despitescientificfixationontheirliquidhowls.Dr. Scipio Roberts at the University Beneath Chicago has been attempting to decode thishypotheticaloctopusgrammarformanyyears,andhasdiscussedhisworkinaninterviewwiththeChicagoEntropyJournal(ascandalousmatterwhichresultedinhisbanishmentfromeverbeingpublishedinNatureagain):

Imagine having the intellect to solve an entire crossword puzzle in only a handful ofseconds. You couldn't accomplish this with a pen; you would need some form of spraynozzle,with sophisticated tools to quickly guide it intowell over one hundred separate

compartments.Now, imagine that crossword puzzle is notmerely two-dimensional, butthree-dimensional,andeverycombinationof letters traced fromleft-to-right,backward-to-forward, and top-to-bottom spells out a grammatically and lexicographically correctwordorphrase.Now,imagineseeingthiscrosswordpuzzlesolvedbeforeyoureyes,thenmemorizingthatsolutioninonlyahandfulofseconds,asitwillimmediatelydissolveafterbeingproduced.This is the nature of octopus language: sudden, profound, extraordinary bursts ofinterrelatedinformation.Hundreds,ifnotthousandsofwordsarewritteninmeresecondsas a solitary black firework, read in an equally short amount of time, then lost to thecurrentsofthesea.Everymemberoftheirspecieshastheirownsophisticatedpersonalityandcosmology,expressedinahandfulofsuddenandbeautifuleruptions,allofwhicharepunctuatedbyanearlydeath.Theartoftheirlanguageisbeyondourcomprehension,forwecanonlyunderstandthembydisassemblingtheverygeometriesthatgivetheirwordsmeaning.

BeyondDr.Roberts'pessimisticanalysis,thereisyetanothermatterwhichFlusserpointsoutwhichmayverywellmakeahuman-octopuscipherimpossible:fromobservationinthewild,theydonotseemtocommunicateingoodfaith;wheneveranoctopusspeaks,theydosowiththe intention to lie or deceive. If this turns out to be correct, no translation, nomatter howthoroughitmaybe,caneverbefullyvalidated."

(UelAramchek,'OctopusLanguage',NorthofReality,December2016)"RAPTUREOFINCORRUPTIBLESEAIntothesea(you)arereturned,toliveyourloneliness.Andtenyears,withoutweariness,youtookpleasure (jouis) in your spirit. The sea used to carry you, but in noway troubled yourfortune.Yousoughttobecomeachildagain,toclimbashoreanddragyourman'sbodyoncemore.Whyleavethesea?Tocarryagift—of life.But it is totheearththatyoupreachfidelity.Andforgetfulnessof yourbirth.Notknowing if youdescend fromamonkeyorawormor if youmightevenbesomecrossbetweenplantandghost.Anxioustoresolvethisdiscord,youteachthesuperman:themeaningoftheearth.Butdoyoucome from earth or sea to announce this news? Is it fluid depths or solid volume thatengenderedyou?Areyoufishoreagle,swimmerordancer,whenyouannouncethedeclineofman?Doyouseektosinkorclimb?Flowoutorflyup?Andinyourentirewillfortheseaareyousoveryafraidthatyoumustalwaysstayupsohigh?

Perchedonanymountainpeak,hermit,tightropewalkerorbird,youneverdwellinthegreatdepths. And as companion you never choose a sea creature. Camel, snake, lion, eagle, anddoves,monkey and ass, and . . . Yes. But no to anything thatmoves in thewater.Why thispersistentwishforlegs,orwings?Andnevergills?Andwhenyousaythatthesupermanistheseainwhomyourcontemptislost,that'sfine.Thatisawillwiderthanman'sown.Butyouneversay:thesupermanhaslivedinthesea.Thatishowhesurvives.Itisalwayshot,dry,andhardinyourworld.Andtoexcelforyoualwaysrequiresabridge.Areyoutrulyafraidoffallingbackintoman?Orintothesea?"

(LuceIrigaray,MarineLoverofFriedrichNietzsche,1991)"Butitmustbestressedthatthemovementofthetidesisnotexactlycyclical.Whatmakestheconcept of tidalectics fascinating is that, although the ocean appears to be engaged in anendlessrepetitionofthesamebackandforthmovementateverymoment,thetideis,infact,neverexactlythesamenordoesitretreatorreturntothesamespotof'origin.'Themovementofthetidestobeexperiencedeverydayonagivencoast(lowandhightides)isdeterminedbyseveralforces, themselves in constant movement and change: primarily, the gravitationaleffectsofthemoonandthesunincombinationwiththemovementoftheearth(theseastralbodies do not rotate in a circular pattern but rather in an elliptical one); but also theconstitutionandshapeoftheparticularcoastoneisconcernedwith(whichis,itself,andatthesame time,alsoproducedby the tides themselves);and thepatternof tidemovement in thedeepocean,whichresonates,sotospeak,allthewaytothecoast.Thefundamentaldifferencesin themovement of tides are exceedingly subtle and themore evident variationsmay takecountlessyearstocoalesce,butthatispreciselythepoint:tidalecticssignalsaspecialattentionto theconstantandever-changingproductionof thecoast-space ina timemuchslower thanthatofcapitalistcoloniality.Incontrasttothedialectic,thetides,furthermore,signalatypeofchangethat,spatially,isnotforward-orientedorperpendicularlyconstituted."

(CarmenBeatrizLlenín-Figueroa,ImaginedIslands:ACaribbeanTidalectics,doctoraldissertation,2012)

“’All it takes,’ said Crake, ‘is the elimination of one generation. One generation of anything.Beetles, trees, microbes, scientists, speakers of French, whatever. Break the link in timebetweenonegenerationandthenext,andit’sgameoverforever.’”

(MargaretAtwood,OryxandCrake,2003)

IGNEOUS~AQUEOUS~MORPHEUS

2017