In the framework of the School for MultiSpecies Knowledges, I participated in a group residency for six weeks in Amstelpark in Amsterdam. I spent many hours of my residency period “organising” encounters with a specific Duck. These encounters took place around several beloved park benches by the park’s waterfowl. Seeking ways to share a park bench, I observed, tried to understand, experimented and have been experimented by the Duck. From curious moments of first encounters to my clumsy acts to relate to the Duck, as well as my failed attempts to provide more comfort to the Bird, you can find evidence of our temporary coexistence in the installation and booklet, I created for this project.
Additionally, together with Angela Serino we invited park visitors to a collective reading session. The session started by reading about my explorations on ways of sharing space with the Duck followed by a collective reading of excerpts from Eva Meijer’s book “When Animals Speak”(2019). By touching on the intimate and political relationships with the park’s waterfowl, this session was a collective exercise to observe our relationship with the more-than-humans and discuss ways to shake known perspectives and points of view. Luckily to us, the Duck joined the reading group, too!
© Melanja Palitta