Make Interspecies Relations — carolinevitzthumstudio

Caroline Vitzthum

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Make Interspecies Relations (2022), letter exchange, living library platform.

Connecting and collaborating with artists, researchers, performers, food researchers, photographers and architects across borders of Australia, Venice, the UK and other localities, Make Interspecies Relations showcases an online environment focused on ecological practices, theories and pedagogies – exploring how we can collectively create companion networks. The project acts as a living library platform where the entanglement of people, places and practices can come together to grow and connect. Make Interspecies Relations is presented with Nextdoor ARI as a part of the CODEY22 Residency programme, and is collaboratively curated by Pierce Eldridge, Chiara Famengo, and Mattie O'Callaghan. Contributing practicioners: Ashleigh Musk, Youngsook Choi, Merinda Davies, Rooya Rasheed, Barena Bianca Collective, Alice Oliver, Amanda Dolgã, Caroline Vitzthum, and Prometheus_Open Food Lab.

Caroline presents extracts from a long-term letter exchange with her friend Chiara, one of the curators of the project and pen friend since 2019. Chiara and Caroline appreciate a rather slow and thoughtful approach to all their communication, gradually building a collection of texts and other shared material. The letters explore some of the core elements of the project - what it means to create, support, and nourish interspecies relationships - from various angles and at different stages in time. The first letter goes back to Caroline's childhood, indulging herself in precious memories of the time spent on her great-uncle's farm as well as reflecting on the importance of imagination in the process of creating 'a reality'. In her second letter, she writes about her former education at a Viennese bespoke tailoring school, reflecting how this specialist training shapes the way she engages with her work and the natural world more generally. Considering 'patience' and 'attention to detail' as a means of creating interspecies relationships. The third letter explores the idea of responsible thinking, plannning, and acting beyond our human lifespan, thereby introducing her current project titled Speaking Sphagnum. Acting as insights into a long-term conversation between Chiara and herself, the letters present the beginning of a more extensive collaboration to be developed.