Drifting between places, we attach ourselves to a national identity as if this will tell our audience who we are. But how can we cultivate the micro-moments of belonging and pry open the threshold between native and nomadic to find a home there? Merging insights from footballers to church members, the project explored how we can create our own subsets of 'localism' to promote cultural integration.
On a hunt for the elusive prize of ‘belonging’ I subjected myself to an experiment; how can I become more local in a day? Knocking on the doors of strangers in my Danish neighbourhood, I collected firewood and conversations. In an attempt to model these cultural and language barriers I hosted an event, n[ASH]ionality, comprised of multinational strangers and firepit. The aim was to create an environment that could catalyse connection to explore how we might shortcut belonging. The task of charcoal drawing one other became a quick way to familiarise guests while cooking bread over the fire sparked collaboration in the face of a common aim. What followed were the more intimate conversations about heritage and language, which were captured in a publication of the event.
The bonfire ashes, a materialisation of social connectedness, became the main ingredient for a series of objects that explore the notion of ‘kit’ and how objects can become the relics of belonging.
