Listening
Book/Editorial
Book/Editorial
Book/Editorial
Book/Editorial
Book/Editorial
Book/Editorial
Book/Editorial
Book/Editorial
Book/Editorial
Designer(s)
Riley Urquhart
Duration
29 Weeks
Recognitions
the publication
‘Listening’ is a publication which is textually driven solely by indigenous peoples in hopes to encourage settler populations to begin listening to the voices of those they are trying to aid. My voice and presence in the publication is only visible in the curation of the material, the note on the first page of the publication, and most notably, in a red acetate sheet between every spread that is intended to both provide further reading for the audience, as well as encourage further interaction between the reader and the physical publication.
why it matters
Often times when we face an unpleasant feeling, such as guilt, our initial reaction to try and extinguish that feeling marks both the beginning and end of that conversation, neglecting any other parties affected in the first place. In order to begin working towards meaningful reparations between two parties, we must listen to those who we have hurt. From the early days of colonization, countless attempts to ‘reconcile’ the relationship this country has with those whose lands we stole have been made–these attempts range from being intentionally counterproductive, to being well intentioned yet hollow in their effects. These attempts, especially the latter, are often driven solely by settler attempts to extinguish one’s own internal guilt and as a result of this internalized white-saviour style of problem solving, Indigenous voices are often not even considered.
what's next
As I’ve mentioned a few times now, this is a starting point for settler learning. As settler’s it is essential that we not only continue to listen to indigenous voices but to welcome the discomfort which accompanies the garnering of such knowledge. As Dennis McPherson writes in Indian on the Lawn, “Good learning is not a matter of finding a happy medium where both parties are transformed as little as possible. Rather both parties must be maximally transformed— in a sense deformed. There is violence in learning.”
