The MAEL (Meeting At Eye Level) project began in 2023 and investigates encounters with wildlife. The idea for it emerged during walks through the sparsely populated rural areas of Lower Austria, where it is possible to encounter brown hares, rabbits, deer, ground squirrels, polecats, blackbirds and other bird species.
What specifically sparked my interest, were those special moments of shared awareness that sometimes occur during these meetings. One possible term for the relational quality of these moments is ‘resonance’. In Hartmut Rosa’s theory of resonance1, the concept of unavailability plays an important role. This corresponds to my experience: While I can create certain conditions to increase the likelihood of resonance, there is no immediate availability of it. The variables that turned out to foster its occurrence, are immobility on the outside, while on the inside, something is set in motion that can be described as ‘bows’ and a ‘dance on points’ – silent, gravity-defying movements that reduce the carnal threat by concentrating the body on a single point.
Methodologically, the challenge lies in capturing the relational figure that emerges from these encounters. One approach I am taking is to use techniques such as superimposition and collage based on photographs of the encounters to visualize moments of resonance. Another approach involves the application of poetic inquiry.
The project aims to develop a practical and theoretical framework that can be shared and reproduced in the context of interspecies encounters. The ultimate goal is to generate new knowledge about how to relate to wildlife by exploring interspecies relationships from a decolonial perspective.
- Rosa, Hartmut. 2016. Resonanz. Eine Soziologie der Weltbeziehung. Suhrkamp. ↩︎