Goose Cams (2017-present) assembles waterfowl hunting decoys and cameras. These sculptures are installed in urban wilds and other places where geese and humans gather, recording their encounters along the way.
Sandrine's Project Statement
Throughout the United States, there are 2 populations of Canada Geese. One is migratory while the other is a resident population: descendants of captive geese once used as live decoys by hunters and released into the environment when the use of live decoys was banned in 1935. Human infiltration through captivity and breeding left these geese and their successors without patterns of migration. This resulted in year-long nesting in locations geese would otherwise leave. These geese have adapted and can be found thriving in unexpected places throughout the United States. Canada Geese live on the threshold of being considered a “nuisance species” that “overrun” human- designated places.
This project explores how we might rethink/reimagine our relationships with these other-than-human neighbors and the spaces we share. Informed by decoy and surveillance strategies used in wildlife monitoring and wildlife cinema, I turn waterfowl decoys used for hunting into tools that help human viewers reimagine how they interact with geese in shared spaces. Camouflage patterns, decoy objects, decoy spreads, and vocalization techniques used by hunters attempt to understand how geese experience the world. However, this understanding is used to lure geese to their death. Through this work, I am circumventing the intended use of these decoy objects and technologies to inspire deep curiosity, compassion and empathy towards the creatures they are designed to manipulate.
Throughout the United States, there are 2 populations of Canada Geese. One is migratory while the other is a resident population: descendants of captive geese once used as live decoys by hunters and released into the environment when the use of live decoys was banned in 1935. Human infiltration through captivity and breeding left these geese and their successors without patterns of migration. This resulted in year-long nesting in locations geese would otherwise leave. These geese have adapted and can be found thriving in unexpected places throughout the United States. Canada Geese live on the threshold of being considered a “nuisance species” that “overrun” human- designated places.
This project explores how we might rethink/reimagine our relationships with these other-than-human neighbors and the spaces we share. Informed by decoy and surveillance strategies used in wildlife monitoring and wildlife cinema, I turn waterfowl decoys used for hunting into tools that help human viewers reimagine how they interact with geese in shared spaces. Camouflage patterns, decoy objects, decoy spreads, and vocalization techniques used by hunters attempt to understand how geese experience the world. However, this understanding is used to lure geese to their death. Through this work, I am circumventing the intended use of these decoy objects and technologies to inspire deep curiosity, compassion and empathy towards the creatures they are designed to manipulate.
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selections from Goose Cams, 2020-22
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selections from Goose Cams, 2017-18
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selections from Goose Cams, 2018
in loving memory of Danielle Abrams |
selections from Goose Cams, 2018-2022
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selections from Goose Cams, 2022
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selections from Goose Cams, 2020-2022
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Sandrine's Artist Statement:
Using a site-sensitive approach, my work offers opportunities to gather and proposes ways to share time not accessible elsewhere in life. Positioning the live encounter as primary, my work is inherently social and collaborative and most often presents as performance art and place-based installation. I challenge conventional viewing tendencies by using repetition, long duration, and multisensory elements to reward curious viewers. My most current work celebrates interspecies entanglements by exploring everyday encounters between humans and other-than-human animals. Working from the belief that it is an artist’s responsibility to uplift the work of others, my practice extends into curatorial projects, writing, and teaching.
Using a site-sensitive approach, my work offers opportunities to gather and proposes ways to share time not accessible elsewhere in life. Positioning the live encounter as primary, my work is inherently social and collaborative and most often presents as performance art and place-based installation. I challenge conventional viewing tendencies by using repetition, long duration, and multisensory elements to reward curious viewers. My most current work celebrates interspecies entanglements by exploring everyday encounters between humans and other-than-human animals. Working from the belief that it is an artist’s responsibility to uplift the work of others, my practice extends into curatorial projects, writing, and teaching.
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