Sedimenting Relations: Power, Folklore, and Non-Human Narratives

Hakemuksen tiivistelmä

My research at the Saari Residence will explore how humans build relationships, with each other, with systems of power, and with the material world. I am interested in how power operates: how it shapes, constrains, and at times crushes both individuals and the elements that exist within its structures. At the same time, I want to investigate how alternative forms of relation can emerge, forms that are more diverse, porous, and resistant to domination. The project will primarily take the form of writing, accompanied by visual and material explorations. I will focus on narratives drawn from cultural folklore, oral traditions, and ecological observation that speak about transformation, resistance, and coexistence. These stories often hold knowledge about living with uncertainty, negotiating power, and imagining different ways of being together. I am particularly interested in how natural phenomena can be understood as poetic events. Processes such as erosion, sedimentation, and decay will inform both the conceptual and formal aspects of the work. These processes challenge linear and human-centered notions of time and agency, offering instead a perspective where change is continuous, relational, and shared across forms of life and matter. Through this research, I aim to develop a body of writing that reflects on how we can learn from these narratives and phenomena to rethink our own social and ecological structures. The project seeks to open up questions rather than provide fixed answers, inviting reflection on how we might build more inclusive and interconnected ways of living.