Transformational Encounters - 2022, Solo Show at Minds Eye Studio Art, Kitchener
There's a lesson to be learned from every relationship. Relationships are very important to me. We learn from each interaction. We get much needed physical and emotional affirmations. We feel security and support when we are surrounded by caring others. Relationship is the sharing of visions and the convergences of various forms of love, but it's also about collaboration and collective survival. Transformational Encounters is about transcending our human-to-human understanding of relationship and connection, and embracing the inclusion of, and the reciprocal care of non-humans in our connections. It is through relationships with non-humans, whatever form they take, that we will create a stronger world that can adapt to or resist the environmental and social challenges coming our way.
Transformational Encounters provides just a glimpse into the concepts and themes that have surfaced so far in my PhD research. I am especially taken with the concept of the pluriverse. The pluriverse is a geopolitical concept that understands our world as a way to connect peoples, and a need to collaborate for our collective survival. Our world consists of diverse people, cultures, ethnicities, ideas and knowledges. Seeing our world as a pluriverse is to respect our differences, while also acknowledging that we need each other, because there are many knowledges and ways of knowing the Earth. I see aspects of the pluriverse in much of the natural world. In my research, I take the concept of the pluriverse a step further - our connections are not just between people, but also include non-humans. Because we live in a more-than-human world.
