“(animals) move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear…they are other nations” - Henry Beston
Other Nations, a collaboration with choreographer Darion Smith, composer Juliet Palmer, and perfumer Dannielle Sergent, extended the 2025 Oregon Contemporary Biennial’s themes of networks, community and care to nonhuman animal nations. Inspired by research on the discourse systems, social networks, and sensory modalities of California ground squirrels and their main predators, coyotes and rattlesnakes, Other Nations explored the interconnected forces of nature and culture between humans, animals, and language.
