Animal Influence I - Antennae The Journal of Nature in Visual Culture

Lisa Jevbratt
Scientific (top left corner) and para-scientific cat color vision simulation algorithms, 2011 Jevbratt
he/she learns about the world. The transition from
human to animal takes place in trance states
induced by dancing, drumming or hallucinogenic
plants (Eliade). In the western scientific paradigm
we would be prone to thinking that this “becoming
animal” is metaphorical.[19] But who are we to say
that this transformation is not real? What do we know
about these cultures that allows us to judge their
experience of becoming animal? What could we
learn if we allowed indigenous metaphysics to
challenge our own ontologies, rather than trying to
explain their experiences within our own? For the
purposes of Zoomorph, I decided to not question
these very different epistemologies at the get go. I
rest, for now, any skepticism I had in order to allow
this other kind of knowledge to percolate and
intermingle with the scientific knowledge I am
working with, in the hope that something interesting
will emerge in the intersection of the two.
I wanted to find, and learn from and with,
those who transform, whatever that means, into
another species (in lieu of a better term I will call
them shape shifters). I have no training or
experience in “field work.” I am not an
anthropologist, but a computer geek artist gone
interspecies. This quest has been rather difficult, but
it has become intrinsic to the project. The last few
years that I have searched for these people and
their knowledge, I have not gotten very far.
However, I have had an opportunity to really
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experience the discrepancies between western
and non-western epistemologies first hand. As a
start, I enlisted the artist Allison Holt, who was
heading to Java to study with a spiritual practitioner
there for a year.[20] She was led from one person to
another with the promise of this or that person
having some knowledge pertaining to shape
shifting. In the end, none of what had seemed
really promising leads got her any information
relevant to Zoomorph. Her experience put doubt in
my mind: How do I find reliable sources? Who would
be willing to communicate with me? Why would
they want to give me information if they have it?
At a Chumash event in Santa Barbara I
worked up the courage to approach a man who
talked about the importance of native ways of
learning. I asked him if he knew of any people that
have knowledge about animal vision through
practices of “shape shifting.” He told me “you have
to be the squirrel yourself, you can’t get this
information via someone else. Just forget everything
you know about vision from western science and
ask to become the squirrel yourself.” Clearly this
path was going to ask much more of me
personally. I spent a week in the rainforest in
Queensland, Australia doing nothing but
“Indigenous Tours:” walking with indigenous guides
who were showing natural features: sacred
waterfalls, petroglyphs, etc., to small groups, or in
some cases only me. I went crab hunting and