The activity starts with people acknowledging their impact. Then they attune with species they chose in a meditative way.
The activity starts with people acknowledging their impact. Then they attune with species they chose in a meditative way.
We propose a method for a roleplaying activity that invites participants to live as more-than-human species of Malmö. Those experiences are then carried over into a round of reflections to inform design of places for multi-species coexistence.
The activity starts with people acknowledging their impact. Then they attune with species they chose in a meditative way.
The activity starts with people acknowledging their impact. Then they attune with species they chose in a meditative way.
In Spaces and Species we are concerned with unsustainable design practices that lead to breaking the bond between the human and the more-than-human. Through concrete barriers, attempts to “harness” the ocean, and utilise it to our own needs, we humans forget that we are a part of an ecosystem that continuously is being destroyed by our actions.
Then, people explore the place as the species they chose. When everyone feels ready, we gather to reflect on the experience.
Then, people explore the place as the species they chose. When everyone feels ready, we gather to reflect on the experience.
The workshop works at the intersection of local histories and the broken ecosystems of the present. The core of it is to try and look at the world from a perspective of a non-human species, be it a seagull or lichen. This is then extended to explore how tight the relationships are between them and how one small change can affect the rest.
Once everyone has reflected, there comes time to express wishes for the future of the place.
Once everyone has reflected, there comes time to express wishes for the future of the place.
The activity concludes with a generative session that proposes changes to the specific place that was explored. These changes are meant to come from a place of better understanding of non-human needs.
Some examples of wishes expressed during our sessions.
Some examples of wishes expressed during our sessions.
It was a pleasure to collaborate with Laura Meyer, Yuri Michieletti and Naturum Öresund for this project.
