»Dispatches from the Field« at Kulturladen Konstanz e.V.

The Backpack of Wings: Sensory Networks
Workshop and screening by Hyeseon Jeong and Seongmin Yuk

As part of the upcoming event Dispatches from the Field, artists Hyeseon Jeong and Seongmin Yuk invite you to a collective exercise of imaginary storytelling, by looking into GPS data from migratory birds. The workshop attempts to open up the possibility of using bio-geo tracking technology as a tool for communion, beyond the level of understanding of the species. Focusing on the migration route of a white stork named Jonas, an exercise of collective imagining allows participants to embody the bird and speculate on the bird’s multisensorial perceptions throughout its journey: what the bird may have seen, heard, smelled, or felt. The stories are then collected and connected. At the end of the workshop, the film The Backpack of Wings: Modern Mythology by the two artists will be shown.

The number of participants is limited. Please register for the workshop by June 3 via Kosmas Dinh at intern.asb@akademie-solitude.de

Encounters With the Wild
A collection of stories performed and narrated by Hemal Naik

Hemal invites you to participate in the tradition of sharing stories over a cup of tea at a small Chai-Kiosk (tea stall). The stories will teleport you to remote corners of India where people and wild animals have shared intimate relationships for hundreds of years. Some of these stories are real-life experiences of forest guards and tour guides whereas some are part of local folklore. Some offer insights into the life of a common villager and some shine light on the lavish life of the kings. The format pays homage to the people of Gujarat and Rajasthan (India) who shared their wisdom, knowledge, stories, and anecdotes with Hemal during his field trips to India.

Biomes
Audiovisual and photographic work by Vivek Hari Sridhar in collaboration with Eduardo Noya Schreus

Biomes, such as forests, marine environments, grasslands, and deserts, are large geographic areas with unique plants, animals, and climatic conditions, defined by various environmental factors. This exhibit focuses on the often neglected grasslands biomes, with scientist Vivek Hari Sridhar highlighting their crucial role in India’s ecosystem. Despite their significance, grasslands in India face conservation challenges due to historical misclassification and contemporary economic and policy issues. Sridhar collaborates with sound artist and composer Eduardo Noya Schreus to present a multimedia exhibit featuring hand-printed photographs and an audiovisual exhibit derived from scientific data. The exhibit highlights the diverse species that inhabit these grasslands and translates some of their movements into music, offering a unique insight into the vitality and richness of this biome.

Effigy of the Beast
Screening by Helene Sommer

Effigy of the Beast (2022-) is a film in progress that deals with the complex relationship we have with non-human animals. Part 1(4K, 25 min, 2023) of this project revolves around a series of conversations with scientists and documentation from field and laboratory work, at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Konstanz. Effigy of the Beast, Part 1, reflects upon how and why knowledge is produced and structured, and in what ways this affects our relationship with other organisms.

Fabulous Anecdotes: Notes from Tal Chhapar
Reading with Simar Preet Kaur

Unlike a lab, the field is a site of unpredictability – a quality that science quantifies and art embraces. The author Simar Preet Kaur joined the team of project MELA while they studied animal mating behaviour at Tal Chhapar Sanctuary (India) and encountered, first-hand, the challenges unique to their fieldwork. Join Simar for excerpts from the resulting text, a work of fiction that is part fable –featuring a heavily anthropomorphised blackbuck and scientists who turn into birds, reptiles and whatnots; and part »research paper« – satirising the rigid structures conventionally used to present scientific findings, creating space for the joys and sillinesses of human behaviour.