A ‘space for wonder’
Researching about Hilbre Island has involved and still involves, being open about how to access knowledge. Getting to know the island has taken many forms so far, from exploring historical records (newspaper clippings, books, blog posts from people who have visited the island), to exploring how creativity has materialised aspects of the island (artistic representations, photographs), to the spoken word (interviewing local people). It has also involved reading journal articles and papers from scholars who have approached the study of Hilbre Island, as well studies on other islands. The academic avenue brings a whole new level of depth which is always interesting to explore as it usually sends me into various ‘rabbit holes’ which I am always curious to explore. This avenue also stretches me intellectually, thinking about the island in ways I haven’t done before.
The constant throughout the exploration of all these ways of accessing knowledge has been the ability to embrace ‘a space for wonder’. According to Aristotle, the base of all our knowledge is not certainty, but wonder. It is that which keeps our concepts open to an ever-changing world, disabling a secure connection between thoughts/ideas and things, or language/concepts and entities in the world; it enables the world to be a living, mattering entity.
Different forms of accessing knowledge
about Hilbre I have used so far
Artistic recording
I have visited Hilbre Island many times since my first visit on early February 2024. Every time I have visited the island I recorded it in some way or another, either by writing a few lines on my journal, sketching or taking photographs. It has been so far a great experience encountering different aspects of the wildlife, the geological patterns, looking at how people interact with the island (luckily always in a respectful way) and also embracing every weather which always adds another level of interest to my visits!
Historical records
Recording the island has also taken its form off the island, digging into historical records in local libraries. This has enabled me to explore creatively how the land, sea, flora and fauna and humans get intertwined, entangled, connected. Research and thinking about Hilbre has been and still a messy process (in a good way), full of crossroads and rabbit holes.
I enjoy getting lost in the learning of different aspects of Hilbre, from its history, the science and the people that have inhabited it. Every layer of information shines a new light onto Hilbre.
Conclusion
The beauty about my approach to research is that creativity allows me to always look for new ways to express what I research, and linking what I encounter to other areas of interest. My willingness to explore and embrace a ‘space for wonder’ (see: ‘Imagining the Invisible’ blog post), the ‘blurry space’ where things are not always clear but are worth recording, is what allows the magic to happen, is what brings the research to life.
I think its also having a desire, or an inclination to comprehend the unseen aspects of the natural world and how they relate to us, which requires to ‘open up to the clearing’, to enter and create what could be possible. It comes to mind an image of my visits to forests around the UK, where I look for these clearings, the ‘tree groves’ where I sit down and let my thoughts and feelings sink in. Things become clear when I allow these silent spaces to manifest.
I keep aiming to embrace the clearings, physically and conceptually.
