Who is my audience?

My intended audience for my work is really anyone who is interested in ecology, sustainability, alternative ecologic sonic practices and those who want to find out more about our relationship to the more-than-human, how we can collaborate and work with them and those who want to change or make a difference to unethical unsustainable practices.

For my work ‘a methodology to collaborate with the more-than-human through environmental field recording’, I not only seek the recordist to use this booklet but anyone who has the intention to press play. This booklet compiles a series of steps for the user to undertake in order to collaborate ethically with the more-than-human. It draws influence from pagan, shamanic and indigenous cosmologies to redefine the process of recording and ultimately collaboration. The booklet is designed to be as accessible as possible – distancing itself from academic jargon that usually creates an inaccessible impenetrable barrier in which anyone who doesn’t know cannot understand without deeper research. I strongly believe that art and academia should be accessible for all – if we cannot share and explore together then what really is the meaning. At the end of the booklet the user can find a library of terminology used to better help their understand of what these words mean it also calls for them to add their own understandings or own phrases and terms that they deem important. This is something that I have use since writing essays at university, as I struggle with dyslexia, I find it hard to retain information sometimes but if the information is there and accessible it allows me to share my findings to anyone who is interested.

My intention with this work has been to release a version of the booklet. This started as hosting an event for anyone who heard the call to trial out the methodology. From this its intention is the further be digitalised and shared to the internet to create further access. This could look like a template of the booklet which can be printed out (sustainably) or digitalised as to use no paper in the process. This enables access from around the world. The next step then is to create a website where the booklet is shared with templates etc and information regarding its contents and a page where users can detail their experiences of the methodology, things they changed to adapt to their own practices, terminology they chose to add alter or deduct from the library at the back of the booklet and ultimately build up a greater discussion about ethical sustainable recording practices.

With my work ‘Reciprocity Leads the Heart Through Death’. I chose not to share any information images or documentation of the work. I believe that artwork dose not has to have an audience and must be shared in order to be considered work. Within this high pace artistic realm, we as practitioner are now living in, are told we have to create and to share for someone or some kind of audience, that people need to see what it is that we make in order to be considered artists. I believe that you can make for the sake of making. This work being especially personal as it takes myself through my life cycles through foraging seasonally to create elixirs, tinctures and teas that are to be given and consumed on Beltane day to celebrate the oak tree I will be buried next to when I die. I gift to my neighbour tree to gift back to me when we share roots in my next life. It could be argued that in this case the oak and the more-than-human are my audience and my viewers, but due to the personal nature of the project I see no reason of a need to share this work at this time.