Making Kin

In this document, I outline the research, theory and practice that are the foundation of my work with the more-than-human world. I draw on the theoretical discussions of what constitutes a person, the inherent vitality of thing power and ideas about kinship and multi-species survival to investigate how we might move towards a glimmer of poly-ontological possibility. The body of work described in this text is an attempt to concurrently experience, facilitate and chronicle my interactions in material form through the creation of objects that serve as both agents and archives. I utilize ceremonial field studies that involve approaching the subject with openness to whatever might transpire, and studio practices with materials that refer to a homesteading vernacular. As a woman of both settler and Indigenous ancestry, I explore my relationship to the more-than-human from a place that straddles, and honours, different cultures and ontologies. There are many ways to create kin, and in this paper I present several potential avenues. Reflecting on the writings of Priscilla Stuckey, Rosi Braidotti, Donna Haraway and Zoe Todd, I propose that we need to adapt our approach to encounters with human and non-human alike in order to be in solidarity with one another as we begin to structure a collaborative response to our unknown future. My research reflects a sensibility that believes in ethics, is concerned with our relationship to nature, is socially oriented and seeks a kind of in-betweeness. To further my understanding of how we might transform mythologies, language and definitions, and to situate my practice within a thinking within a broader artistic and theoretical context, I refer to contemporary artists centralizing relationships with the more-than- human world, including Rebecca Belmore, Marcus Coates and Tanya Willard.