RESPONSE-ABILITY
This research project aims to explore how an interdisciplinary practice—creating with and in response to Earthworms—can contribute to a growing awareness of human and nature relationships. Donna Haraway’s sympoiesis (creating-with) and the concept of mimesis are central to the research methodology. Sympoiesis began with developing a deeper awareness of the movements, actions, and needs of Earthworms, which I documented and refined through fieldnote reflections and photography. Deeper attentiveness of caring was then expressed in the artworks through repetitive making and printing processes. At the same time, the Worms’ creative agency was considered through the decomposition results of situated fabrics, paper, and organic waste. As the research progressed, the ethical tensions of using Earthworms’ agency for both academic and creative purposes were acknowledged and addressed, shaping the final part of the methodology—mimesis—the mimicry of the Earthworm’s decomposing process, utilising grass-clippings and paper, which are broken down and reassembled into new forms so I could return the Earthworms to their natural habitat. Navigating the ethical imbalance and the desire to create with Earthworms, this research has addressed the limitations of multi-species co-creation, while also recognising how care practices can foster valued and attentive engagement with our multi-species kin.
