Talk Aleksija Neimanis- “Learning endings- and learning from cross-disciplinary collaboration”

December 5, 2024. 09:15-09:45

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia

72nd Annual Conference of the Wildlife Disease Association 

Description of Event:

72nd Annual Conference of the Wildlife Disease Association, December 1-6, 2024, Canberra, Australia. 

Session: Wildlife health and the arts, Thursday December 5, 09:00-10:30 including panel discussion on “Where could we go with the arts and wildlife health?” 

Abstract:

Water covers 70% of the earth’s surface and healthy aquatic ecosystems are as vital as those on land. Cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) are top predators and their health and population status reflect the health of our marine environments. Poor health, disease and anthropogenic threats can impact cetacean species, other animals and ecosystems. Cetaceans spend their entire lives at sea, which makes them challenging to study. Necropsy, or post-mortem examination, of stranded, dead cetaceans can teach us about these individuals, their populations and the threats that these animals and their ecosystems face. But what else can we learn from these endings? Our cross-disciplinary project Learning Endings (www.learningendings.org) used cetacean necropsy as a starting point to try and find out.

Our collaboration was based on a funded pilot project that allowed us to invest time in learning about each other’s practices and processes, to probe where and how art and science differ, to explore our assumptions and to work through tensions that arose. Live-streamed necropsies and interviews sparked discussions on recurring themes that included ritual, care, grief and being stranded. Ritual was especially evident in the practice of necropsy where one examines and samples the animal in the same way every time according to standardized protocols. Our project also experimented with a new protocol, the touch ritual, that was added to the necropsy procedure. Through images and storytelling, I will share how our project helped me understand necropsy as a form of care, how art can support scientists in their work and how the insights we gained on tough subjects like endings and extinctions can be communicated to a broader audience with hopes of facilitating a deeper appreciation for ocean care.