The research question of the MAEL project asks for the specifics of the relational figure as it comes to life in each wildlife-encounter:

How can this living, resonant formation of mutual projections and affectations be approached and realized?

To realize this relational figure in visual terms, techniques such as superimposition and collage are applied to the photographs taken during the encounters.

Another evaluative approach is to conduct a poetic exploration – here I draw on a variety of techniques encompassed by the term ‘poetic inquiry,’ including poetic transcription as introduced by Glesne¹ in 1997.

In short, poetic techniques such as cut-up methods and random sampling are used to transform the project’s field notes into poem-like stanzas. This process creates new connections and associations, bringing the relational figure to life through the medium of language.

1. Glesne, Corrine. 1997. That rare feeling: Re-presenting research through poetic transcription. Qualitative Inquiry, 3, 202-222. https://doi.org/10.1177/107780049700300204 ↩︎