Artistic dialogue of human and more- than- human bodies. A space of possibility for togetherness and just futures?

How might human, more-than-human bodies and places be connected, and in mutual influence on each other, in more or less visible ways, in light of geological time, the present and a possible future? What forms of communities between human, more-than-human bodies and places emerge through different analyses of more-than-humanbodies? How may artistic dialogues with human and more-than-human bodies and places create poetic and meditative spaces where all bodies are interdependent in the development of imagined and possible worlds (imaginaries)?

In this research project I will explore different and possible interweavings between human and more-than-human bodies and places, in the light of geological (deep) time and space. The 'more-than-human bodies’ are here defined as geological entities (mountains, structural formations, landforms, deposits such as delta, sand, etc.) Bodies that exist in different forms, have different mobilities and span different time intervals. This relational approach to nature, body and culture opens the possibility of studying how alternative perspectives and imaginaries arise in encounters with nature as they are represented by the more-than-human bodies. The more-than-human bodies form the starting point for various artistic investigations and reflections that in turn thematize different forms of togetherness /relations between bodies and places. The project's contextual backdrop is the man-made climate and nature crisis, the greatest global challenge of our time. The negative effects of this crisis are unprecedented and without analog. We urgently need to reverse this trend whilst finding other ways of co- excisting.

Artistic reflections and responses will take the form of choreographies, sculptures, video installations, conversations and publications. The ambition is to contribute towards a collective redefinition of how we think, act and live together in equal and sustainable ways, relevant in and outside the arts.

Helle Siljeholm is a fine artist and choreographer based in Oslo. She holds a Bachelor's degree in contemporary dance from London Contemporary Dance School (2003), and a Master's degree in Fine Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts in Oslo (KHIO) (2016). Helle works with film, installation, sculpture, choreography and performance. She also carries out curatorial assignments. Helle's artistic work often involves extensive collaboration across a range of artistic and academic disciplines. She exhibits and performs nationally and internationally.