12 August, 2024 Arteles, Finland
MD: This is Melissa DeLaney and it's the 12th of August at Arteles Creative Center, Finland. Thank you for joining me for this conversation today.
S: Nice to be here, my name is S and I’m an artist from the United States.
MD: Thanks, S. The first question is,
Beyond your name and the place and where you're from, I'd like you to tell me who you are.
S: I am kind of a traveling chameleon. I don't really have a place that is one place that is home. And when I think about community, I kind of think about building global community in this moment in my life, as opposed to like a very kind of molecular, place based community. I'm pretty concerned with adapting to the ways the world changes. And that includes the materials I have for my work, the conversations I have. I'm really open to intervention and inspiration, which is why I do a lot of residencies. I love people, and I also equally love solitude and quiet. And I've learned that having stuff kind of dilutes my life in a way that makes or dilutes my focus. So I try to live pretty light and minimally. I care a lot about the environment and my body, and I want it to last as long as it can. I'm really committed to the relationships in my life. I'm kind of one of those, I'm like a glue person. No matter where I am. I'm always sending people letters and postcards and doing my best to keep in touch. I really like authentic celebration and honesty. I am pretty committed to changing. I don't know if it's like this globally or just in the States, but kind of changing the atmosphere of the arts, as something that doesn't have to be efficient and capitalist driven and competitive, that your success is my success. And we have a lot to learn from each other. And so I think a lot about the ego and how to disassociate from that in experiences.
MD: Yeah. Amazing. Thank you.
S: Yeah. Sorry if that was, like a list.
MD: No. It's perfect. Thank you so much.
What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of care?
This has multiple strands. We can go into multiple strands with your response because it may relate to your personal experience of care. You've also talked about relationship and also the public interaction and spaces of care for you. So what's the first thing that pops into your mind? Um, we'll start with the personal.
S: I think listening is the thing that is most important to me in terms of care. Because everyone's definition of care is so different. And I think if you give, someone should be ready to receive and should be wanting to receive that type of care. I just think listening can be probably the greatest healer that we have.
MD: And what about your first thing that pops into your mind when you think about care in a broader public sense?
S: I think it's the same for me. I just think that if we were listening, we were listening in a more engaged way on kind of like a micro and macro scale, then we could show up for each other the way we need to. So I think that kind of works on both.
MD: And then in relationship, what's the first thing that pops into your mind when you think about relationship and care?
S: I think it's listening. I don't know if I'm projecting like what I'm focusing on in my life right now, I'm just doing a lot of noticing and listening and being. I just think listening is so valuable and it's so easy for people in intimate relationships, friendships, larger communities to totally misunderstand each other if they're just acting on their own impulses. Because, like my version of care, if I'm caring for you, it may actually be a suffocating experience for you. and so I think like just seeing the beauty and how we're all different and how we all have different kinds of needs and boundaries and so forth.
MD: Yeah. So with the listening, what are some of the ways you do that in your daily life?
S: I'm really leaning into silence and not my impulses, not taking up space, but not to my own detriment. I just I think I'm a lot more interested in hearing other people's stories and sitting back than being sort of performative in my own way. Or, you know, it doesn't have to be performative. I guess. Just being slower and more patient and understanding that everybody's brain processes at different speeds and giving the time for that. And that's something I've been really aware of here at the Arteles Residency. In my day to day in the States, it's like everything is so fast and you need to know immediately how you feel about things, what you're going to do about it, and like what the next five steps are. And it's been really nice to have kind of more long form conversations here where I've noticed people are really taking the time to articulate what they're experiencing, which seems to be changing day to day for everybody. And yeah, it's just like a nice kind of excavation of things that we generally might suppress, to serve the most immediate need of like work, commute, bills, whatever.
MD: Tell me about any other immersive residency experiences you've had that are longer?
S: I think the one that was most immersive is the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology in Oregon. I was in a cabin in the middle of 80 acres of forest by myself. Luckily, I did have my dog. I basically didn't really see anybody or share space with anybody. It was similar to this in that it was a vast forest with lots of trails completely immersed in nature. Mhm. and I think that's when I started to notice how much extraneous noise was in my life, and I was able to kind of distill and simplify the things that really, like, aided my life and my practice and also really meditate on relationships. And even though the solitude was so valuable for me, um, you know, it's back to that realisation of like, experience is most fulfilling when shared. And I think sometimes it takes like drastic aloneness. I mean, that's like a literal aloneness, but that can manifest in so many different ways to reassess what other energies are bringing to your life.
MD: Yeah. And I'm interested as well, watching your experience here and hearing a little bit about that experience. I'm sensing that relationship is also with the more-than-human.
Expand a bit on your interest in relationship and care for the more-than-human as well.
S: Well I think we're all part of the same system. So um, you know like I went on a walk with Dennis in the woods and he was kind of sharing his like knowledge of Buddhist philosophy. And he was saying, you know, like, we are the woods and the woods are us. And I'd never really thought about it like that, but I think that's so true. And, that's where a lot of my work kind of stems from the excess of our stuff and how it is affecting the way the world is in harmony with itself and with us. It’s just this interesting disconnect where we know, this is our home where we live. Yet. We're still not taking measures to make it a sustainable place for life. So I don't necessarily, speak to the forest literally. But, um, I really notice the ground beneath my feet, and I notice how differently I feel when I'm in the natural environment, as opposed to like a very busy, urban, man made designed for efficiency space. It feels right and harmonious to be in a wild space, because I think we're not supposed to be contained in the way that structures have decided we should be.
MD: What are some things that you do if you are in those busy spaces in the care of yourself?
S: I try to adapt my lifestyle so that it's tailored. I'm aware that all of my needs can't be met all the time, but I try to find a hybrid model. So I, for example, I bike as my main transportation everywhere, which I'm like at least staying in tune with my body and my surroundings in a way where I don't feel like I have the same impulse, like when I'm driving. Sometimes I kind of forget the whole drive because it's just so, like, burned into my memory. I definitely seek out spontaneity. I just try to avoid efficiency routine. Like, all of the kind of like capitalist models that I don't think actually work for mental wellness. I seek out things like this and the unknown because I think play and exploration and being in kind of like a diverse community that's surprising. You know, like I love that this residency is just bringing all ages, all backgrounds, all manner of people together. And you share knowledge. And there's like an anxiety and an awkwardness to having all these new roommates at first. But it's like a beautiful choice that everybody's made.
MD: Yeah, absolutely. So this one is beyond and into the future. And again, multifaceted.
How would you like to see more care enacted in your future and also the future?
You've talked about those things that are really important to you around, listening and around how you are looking at extracting things that are unnecessary from your life.
So tell me about your vision of what a care enacted world looks like for you.
S: Well, I don't think I need to mention it again, but more listening for sure. I think less of an emphasis on the material things, which are ultimately a distraction. I'm not against, you know, enjoying your life and like, acquiring things and experiencing things that require tools and gadgets. But I think it's become such an arbitrary marker of like happiness and status. And it works to divide us more than bring us together. I guess my hope is that, through listening and through more intentional living, people can learn to build community and collaborate and work together more, which feels kind of like a basic, naive ideal. But especially after the pandemic when people couldn't have contact with each other in the same way that we kind of take it for granted up until that point, you know, just sort of seeing people spit out of that experience, searching for this deeper meaning through relationships and seeing it in a different way. I don't know what the answers are, but I do feel hopeful that I think things are like percolating within people. And I've noticed a lot of people in my life making like, really conscious choices to live differently.
I think anything that can snap us out of sort of the the muscle memory routine of what we think we're supposed to do, because I think ultimately, if everyone's pursuing things that bring them meaning, and seeking out people who are similarly engaged and enthusiastic, there will become a natural rhythm to the way we care for each other and the way we care for others, and the way hopefully, like nations care for each other.
MD: You mentioned at the beginning of this conversation about your leanings towards building and connecting with an international community as well.
How would you see that happening beyond borders and beyond all those kind of other barriers that we've talked about around borders and generations and cultures?
S: I mean, that's such a big question for like, a little artist like myself.
MD: Yeah.
S: I think the more we can share with each other together and kind of check our judgments and our preconceptions at the door. The more we can understand each other's point of view and, you know, it's like that cliche like if you, if you walk in anybody's shoes, you understand who they are. And you can learn to love almost anybody if you give them a chance to tell their story. And I just think more tenderness towards people because I think to be alive is to be full of complex emotions. And, just a lot of conflicting emotions and anxieties and it's a complicated state of mind being alive. I think the more tender we can be with each other and the more we can seek exchange. That sounds so general, but, I do it through residencies because I like to travel with purpose, and I like to get out of my bubble and my mindset. I don't know what that looks like for everybody. More openness, less projection. I feel like if we could all just come together and understand that most of our anxieties in the world are of our own projected insecurities and fears that would also allow us to listen and exchange so much better.
MD: I'm loving the thread of listening through everything that you're doing.
So what are some of the ways you listen to yourself?
S: I feel like I just check in with myself all the time. I'm an artist who doesn't make work that is all part of the same series. It's about the discovery for me and kind of communicating an idea and then, filling the well once again with something else, and it's just through experience. I've learned that I'm most energised by kind of newness and discovery and play. it's like, if my body is hurting, I'll rest that day. Or if I feel like being quiet, I'll go find a perch somewhere alone. I feel really lucky and privileged that kind of that is a facet to the way I live as an artist. I don't have much in the way of stuff, but I think I, I feel like I know myself pretty well. Because I have to. Because I can't, like, mask it with stuff or devices or, you know, distractions.
MD: There is a beautiful purity in that. and very challenging work for a lot of people. That, in terms of the broader futures of care, if individuals are empowered to be their own barometer and to be able to listen to themselves more and tune in and know how to be constantly adapting. Something that you mentioned in a conversation we had in the studio earlier around being empowered to adapt, then that is a superpower.
S: Yeah. And like being willing to not choose the right path and learn from that. Not be so self conscious because like, that's part of the experience is like. Failing seems like such a harsh word, but it's like trying something and realising, experimenting. Realising, this is not for me. And, you can make a choice. I could see this as a terrible experience or something really positive, and now I know something deeper about myself.
MD: And that constant curiosity. Beautiful. Thank you so much.
Before we end up today, is there anything else you'd like to contribute before we close?
S: I think I've really hammered it home that I love listening. so thank you for listening to me now. And all of us and. Yeah. Yeah, offering this experience.
MD: It's been amazing. Thank you very much, S. Thank you. I've just put a stop record. Otherwise, we'll have the world's longest empty listening recording.
S: You drew my mug.
MD: I did. I drew multiple mugs.