INTER-SPECIES RELATIONS














At the edge of the forest, we stop and listen: scratching, creaking, water flowing, humming, vibrations, cries, and squeaks emerge, as if revealing nature’s vocabulary. In fact, this language is much more complex than the mere frequencies captured by the ear – here, various creatures communicate and collaborate with each other and those around them, imitate each other, and keep one another company. To alert others of their presence, certain crickets rustle the foliage of plants on which they rest. Underground, vast networks of mycorrhizae stimulate the exchange of nutrients between tree roots and the surrounding plants, a vital and mutually beneficial partnership. The formulation of solidary survival strategies forges deeply linked evolutionary destinies. Because we are a constituent part of these ecosystems, couldn’t we also be listening, so that we can better take part in them?














Excerpt from Serge Cardinal’s essay Écoute des indices, écoute des signes, écoute de la signifiance: Notes sur Roland Barthes, 2015.

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Sound recording, Ileana Hernandez, 2021.

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Corps Roca
, sound recording, Ileana Hernandez, 2021.





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Series of rock formations (rock circle, rock convention, rock prison), Ileana Hernandez, 2021.

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Performance by Ileana Hernandez for the exhibition Groundwork, Critical Distance, Toronto, 2021.

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Des insectes et des hommes. Écouter et communiquer, episode 3, by Juliette Boutillier, France Culture, December 23, 2020.

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Découpage 4, cut-out rosebush leaf and acrylic paint, Zoé Fortier, 2017. Creation with Megachile bees.

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Cartographie pour abeille
, collage, Zoé Fortier, 2017.

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Excerpt from Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants (Milkweed Editions, 2014), 128–29.

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Journey to the Microcosmos, a Youtube series produced by Andrew Huang, James Weiss, and Hank Green, since 2019.