Rest in Holes
“While we were collecting medicinal herbs to test for pollutants, Elder Albert Yellow-knee told me that bears seek out a special landscape called ‘bear holes’ in the marshes to cleanse and heal themselves.”
In the exhibition “Bear Hole,” it points to the relentless pursuit of progress in modern society and a sense of time that seems to solidify during road trips. This workshop invites everyone to lie flat and find alternative healing spaces and a “resting guide” that resonates with their inner selves.
The reading text for this event includes small notes written by participants during the “Bear Hole” exhibition, responding to questions posed by the artists about illness and dreams. It also includes research papers such as Janelle Marie Baker’s “Bear Stories in the Berry Patch: Tending the Northern Fire of Reverence” and Laura McLauchlan’s “Hedgehog Champions,” both from the 2022 “Listening, Attuning: Feminist Environmental Humanities Summer Symposium (FEHSS).” Another article by Khanmalek, T., and Rhodes, H. A. R. titled “A Feminist Decolonial Understanding of the Bed: An Incomplete Archive of Sick and Disabled Soft Brown Queer Bodies” is a reimagining of the dictionary from the perspective of bedridden individuals, interpreting the meanings of key terms through their own experiences, resistance against discrimination, and empowerment. Finally, Pester’s “Rest Song” attempts to intervene in lullabies that sometimes convey war, panic, and dogma, transforming them into songs that promote rest for both caregivers and infants.
