I begin making my artistic provocations by collecting natural materials that I am able to find on a trail where I walk daily. At the beginning of this project, my natural materials are primarily fall leaves. I mainly place them on a tree stump which serves as my canvas as well as on the ground nearly where tree roots grow and people walk their dogs. As the tree stump is round, I make a circle with the leaves and as the ground is uneven, I make a flowing river with leaves and wooden sticks. At the beginning of this art making process, there is often barely a trace of the circle of leaves, or of any of my artistic provocations the following day. I am often uncertain as to how to react upon discovering the disappearance or a partial destruction of my artistic provocation. I sometimes react to the anonymous actions immediately. However, I often respond to the reaction namely the disappearance or partial destruction of my art piece, a few days later. Each time my artwork on the tree stump is broken, or destroyed, I issue a fresh invitation on and around the same tree stump and on the surrounding ground. Every time I finish making a fresh invitation, I wonder if this one will also be destroyed soon, or if it will remain intact for a while. Triggs and Irwin (2014) emphasize the movements of action and reaction.
In walking, multidimensional movement cannot be spatialized; its essential character is always in a state of becoming. This means that one experience always recedes into other experiences and simultaneously we feel anticipation and remembrance, approach and withdrawal, recovery and loss. Because most of our actions are re-action(P.29).
After a few months of continuous provocative art making in the same space, destructive reactions from others have decreased significantly. Occasionally, I note how others have contributed to my art works, or I see additional art works created alongside my own artistic work. Changes to or the disappearance of my art works may result from natural phenomena, animals or people. No matter how many times I see provocative reactions from others, even in a public space, I feel a sense of frustration. However, I have to accept all reactions from others as these result from their acceptance of my invitation to stop and dwell in the moment. Consequently, I am frustrated with my own frustration. Springgay, Irwin, and Kind (2005) contend that any acts of engagement will occur in-between opening spaces whereas knowing is situated within the middle and on the edges. I should therefore regard these open spaces which occur within the disruptive actions as invitations “that leave room for encounters between artist/ researcher/ teacher and reader/viewers entangling experience(s)” (Springgay, Iwrin & Kind, 2005, p. 906).
