[ISEA2012] Artist Talk: Chris Galanis – DONKEY WALKING: INTERSPECIES COLLABORATION and THE RE-WILDING OF GRADUATE SCHOOL

Artist Statement

My work explores the relationship between embodied sensual knowledge and the internalized narratives we project onto the environment through human culture. For my thesis exhibition I am developing a week-long installation in which I will cohabitate in the University Art Department courtyard with a donkey. In an attempt to facilitate an unmediated audience experience of “nature,” I’ll lead regularly scheduled walks around the campus with the donkey, as well as invite the public to eat, sleep, and spend time in the courtyard with us. The project encompasses not only my love of donkeys, but also frustration with artistic attempts to “represent” nature.