“Are we there yet?”
artistic research on / with / in transition
Est une série de 9 vidéos, sur 9 mois, réalisée par Nora Wagner dans le cadre des Journées de la Transition.
Episode N°6 Being Together
La vidéo « Tree of Peace », de Kanien’kehá:ka – acadienne – irlandaise, artiste, musicienne, conteuse, curatrice et éducatrice, Lindsay Dawn Dobbin parle de relation et d’écoute, et considère l’animosité et la sagesse des êtres plus qu’humains.
La vidéo peut être visionnée tous les jours de 10h00 – 18h00 jusqu’au 28 février à neimënster dans une ‘video box’ spécialement préparée.
Tree of Peace
A tree becomes paper, becomes a book, becomes a carrier of knowledge, stored in a bookshelf made out of wood, waiting for you to receive with your mind.
A tree is a being, is a carrier of knowledge, becomes a mentor, strong enough for you to lean against, waiting for you to receive with your heart.
Lindsay Dawn Dobbin explains:
“The eastern white pine is the Tree of Peace for the Haudenosaunee. Chosen by the Peace-giver as a symbol of unity, the tree represents a confederacy of five Indigenous nations, including my Kanien’kehá:ka ancestors.
The pine is visually depicted with roots spreading north, east, south, west, and an eagle on top. War weapons are buried beneath the tree, representing the dissolution of conflict. This confederacy, Kayanerenh-kowa, or Great Peace, is the oldest living democracy in the world.
For us, the tree is a heart, a teacher and a gathering place that offers shelter, protection and medicine. In my time with the tree featured in this film, I have discovered peace and a greater sense of unity and strength within myself.
Through resting, listening and laying down the “weapons” of the mind that can cause so much inner conflict, I’ve learned how to be present and accepting of what is. In this space, I’ve felt equally witnessed by what I’m witnessing, and have sensed the shared being of me and the tree. This connection has been profoundly healing.“
The video “Tree of Peace” is about relationships and listening, and considers the animacy and wisdom of more-than-human beings. In some way one could understand it as a proposal to extend the notion of our “living room”, with all its notions of sharing, resting, exchanging and intimacy into a broader context than our human house.
Lindsay Dawn Dobbin, a Kanien’kehá:ka – Acadian – Irish water protector, artist, musician, storyteller, curator and educator, was born in and belongs to the Kennebecasis River Valley (from the Mi’kmaq word Kenepekachiachk, meaning “little long bay place”), a tributary of the Wolastoq (“beautiful river”), in the traditional territory of the Wəlastəkwiyik and Mi’kmaq. Dobbin has lived throughout Wabanaki Territory, mostly around the Bay of Fundy, as well as the Yukon in Kwanlin Dün territory.
Dobbin’s relational and place-responsive practice includes music, sound art, performance, sculpture, installation, social practices and writing, and is invested in Indigenous epistemologies and cultural practices, such as drumming. Through placing listening, collaboration, play and improvisation at the centre of the creative process, Dobbin’s practice explores the connection between the environment and the body, and engages in a sensorial intimacy with the living land and water.
www.lindsaydobbin.com
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