I just got back from the site we have set up for tanning moose hides using the traditional process of, what Gerry calls "eating the brains" (aka "brain tanning"). I haven't had much of an opportunity to get my hands dirty because my role is to create a visual document of the process--a video to be shared with community.
What I find really interesting about this project is the way I am looking and moving in relation to those who are getting their hands dirty. There is a definite rhythm and pattern to the work of tanning moose. Yesterday it was sharpen, scrape, stop, listen, wipe, look and repeat. Today it was rub, squeeze, pull and repeat. Each day the sound and movement may change but as people work together they seem to choreograph their own routine. And as the tanners work on this routine, I find that their harmony bleeds into my own processes of collection and creation. When they listen to our teacher, I look up from the camera and stop and listen; as they sharpen their tools before they return the hide, I almost squint, sharpening my sight and thinking forward to a new frame. They are thinking of getting the blade to the right point so that the flesh rolls off and I am thinking of getting the camera into the right place to film an interesting and engaging piece of this film puzzle. Yes, cultural activity works its way into the style and practice of the visual creator...and we need to let it in if we are to engage in art that is decolonizing.
What I find really interesting about this project is the way I am looking and moving in relation to those who are getting their hands dirty. There is a definite rhythm and pattern to the work of tanning moose. Yesterday it was sharpen, scrape, stop, listen, wipe, look and repeat. Today it was rub, squeeze, pull and repeat. Each day the sound and movement may change but as people work together they seem to choreograph their own routine. And as the tanners work on this routine, I find that their harmony bleeds into my own processes of collection and creation. When they listen to our teacher, I look up from the camera and stop and listen; as they sharpen their tools before they return the hide, I almost squint, sharpening my sight and thinking forward to a new frame. They are thinking of getting the blade to the right point so that the flesh rolls off and I am thinking of getting the camera into the right place to film an interesting and engaging piece of this film puzzle. Yes, cultural activity works its way into the style and practice of the visual creator...and we need to let it in if we are to engage in art that is decolonizing.
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