Cultural Studies Review volume 16 number 1 March 2010

http://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/csrj/index Kim Satchell 2010

Auto-choreography

Animating Sentient Archives

KIM SATCHELL

Lifeitselfisasmuchalongwalkasitisalongconversation,andthewaysalongwhichwewalkarethosealongwhichwelive.Therearebeginningsandendings,ofcourse.Buteverymomentofbeginningisitselfinthemidstofthingsandmust,forthatreason,bealsoamomentofendinginrelationtowhateverwentbefore.Likewise,everystepfacesbothways:itisbothbeginningandend,ortipofatrailthatleadsbackthroughourpastlife,andanewbeginningthatmovesusforwardtowardsfuturedestinationsunknown.

TimIngoldandJoLeeVergunst,WaysofWalking1

In thedistanceahugemanwithaheavygait lumbers towardme.Hisworkbootspoundthedrysandabovethehigh‐tidemark. Ihaveneverseenhimonthebeachbefore,butknowhimasawelderwhoworksintheindustrialareaintown.Walkingon the beach everyday you learn who the regulars are, who makes the oddappearanceandthosewhoarenewfaces.Iwalkhereeverydayforpleasureandasapart of my fieldwork.2 Under the rubric of belonging and the methodologicalimperative of paying attention, I am interested in the possibilities of learning, viaplace‐centred perspectives, a transformative pedagogy for cultural and ecologicalliteracy.3 The focal point of this stretch of foreshore is at the intersection of two

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beaches,arockyoutcropofinterconnectedtidalpoolsknownasWitchesbecauseofthe resemblance to awitcheshat.Therearenumerous shorebirdspresent in thisstudy, alongwith awhole range of actors and subjects,material, human andnon‐human. In recent times I have beenpaying particular attention to kingfishers andfairy wrens which are common to the foreshore here. There is a large parcel ofwetland backing the beach, providing a significant habitat for birds, among otheranimals.Earlierinthemorning,Ispottedapairofkingfishersonsomedriftwoodonthebeach,andbeguntothinkabouttheirnestinghabits,‘kik‐kik‐kik‐kik’.4

The old fellow and I draw nearer together. He is still in work clothes ofgrease‐stained black singlet and black stubbies. Grime smears from his bald headinto pepper‐grey hair, which also rugs his back. Despite the obvious toll that theaerobicexerciseofwalkingisexactinguponhim,heresolutelysucksonaroll‐your‐owncigarette,whichrestshands‐free in thecornerofhismouth. I think tomyselfthatIwould lovetotakeaphotoofthisguytrundlingalong,completelywrenchedoutofthecontextofhisfustyworkplace.Smokewaftswiththerhythmofthewind,hisbreathandthedoggedmovement forward.Hegruntsaswepasseachother intheblurofasharednod.Upwind,thesmelloftobacconudgesmenowandagainaswegoourseparateways.AfterawhileIdoublebackandwalkupthebeachtrack.Rounding thebend, I break the solitudeofhisquiet reverie. I apologiseprofusely,assuringhimIhadnotsnuckuponhimonpurpose.Atthishemotionstowardthebushdeclaringemphatically:‘Whatabloodymess!’

Herestsonthetreatedpinefenceforsupport.Drawingheavilyonhissmokebefore leaning forward, he looks back over his shoulder and then swings backaroundtofixhisgazeonme. ‘Bloodygreenies,’hesays, ‘thewholethingisfucked’.‘Whatdoyoumean?’Iask. ‘OldMrsDunnusedtoliverighthere,’hepointstotwohuge pine trees. ‘She planted those trees and her place stood right there. TommyDunn’s old lady, they lived here for years, kept the whole thing neat tidy, grewvegetables and had a chook shed, back over there.’ He points. ‘Back down there,’motioninglikeaconductor,‘TommyhadanoldChevyengineriggeduptohaulshellgritoffthebeach.Theywouldsellitinbags,causeinthemdays,hesays,everyonehadtheirownchooksandveggiegardens.Peoplewouldcomeheretobuyshellgrit.Theyhadagoodsizehouse,paintedtip‐to‐toewithtarbecauseofthetermites.SoonasoldMrsDunndiedandTommywasnotaround,thebloodygreeniesjustburntit

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down. What a bloody mess,’ he repeats. ‘Who looks after it now?’ he asksrhetorically. I pipe up, ‘What about Dune‐Care, the National Parks mob and theCouncil?’ ‘All fuckwits,’ he says. The old fellow shakeshis head andmutters as helurches forward down the path, ‘they ruined it; you can’t do bloody anything,anymore.’

Itisastonishingthedifferentperceptionspeopleholdofanyparticularplace.Ihaveonlyseenhimoncesincethen,atthepostoffice,sameoutfit,inatiradeaboutdodgy vacuum cleaners. The area of bush the old guy is talking about covers theheadland overlookingWitches and backs onto old farmland adjoining the existingvillage.Atoneendfarmersstillruncattleandtheareacontainsstandsofpaperbark.At thenorthernendof thisparcelof landanexpanseof lakebacks thedunesandthen bends seaward around the corner, on occasion open to the ocean.5 This isdespite thedamage sand‐miners caused fifty years ago, all along the foreshoreupand down the coast. In the dunes, up beyond the northern end, a colony ofendangeredlittleternsarenestingatthetime.

Developershavebeen trying to subdivide this land for years.On theothersideofthehighwayadjacenttothis,anoldmill iscurrentlybeingconvertedintoasubdivision.TheCoastalReserverunsalongthisstrip,joiningNationalParkReservewith the Solitary Island Marine Reserve, producing something of a buffer todevelopmentandonesideofanargumentforconservationandpreservationofbio‐diversity. The tension between the city and the country here is palpable.6 Theinevitabilityofchangeappearsunstoppable,butthequalityofspecificchangesstillweighsinthebalance.7InthisIfindsomeencouragementtomakearguments,speakup and act. By theway, termites eat out the banksia along the foreshore and thekingfishersusethedecaytonest in ‘arboreal termitarium’ortreehollows(fourtosixeggs).8

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Onceinhislifeaman…oughttogivehimselfuptoaparticularlandscapeofhisexperience,tolookatitfromasmanyanglesashecan,towonderaboutit,todwelluponit.Heoughttoimaginethathetouchesitwithhishandsateveryseasonandlistentothesoundsthataremadeuponit.He

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oughttoimaginethecreaturesthereandallthefaintestmotionsofthewind.Heoughttorecollecttheglareofnoonandallthecoloursofthedawnanddusk.

N.ScottMomaday,TheWaytoRainyMountain9Anyway,my life isabeach…ormaybe in theendcould it justbeawave?Well, itpretty much consists of a few beaches and a couple of headlands (beyond thisteachinginanearbyregionalcity).Don’tgetmewrong,Iamnotcomplaining.Igavemyselfuptothisparticularlandscapesometimeago,boththewayoflivingandtheprocessofrecollectionandcontemplation.Youmightcallitamethodforresearch.10I do. And I also consider this decision, or gamble with fate, as a work of art.11Pleasure derived from the genius of place.12 A single‐mindedpursuit kept alive inthe delicate weave of day‐in, day‐out, wonder and return, rehearsal andperformance.A livinghere andnow thatbecomes substantivebeyond thepassingmoment. A present made possible by a recuperation of the transient in theresonanceofan intimateknowing,embodied in relationshipwitha sentientplace.Tobegentlyheldrestinginthedelightofemplacedconnections.It’shardtobesure,butfuckIlovethisplace.

I am a surfer enmeshed in coast. A pirate troubled by guilt and assuagedwith desire. Embodying the intricacy of a lived cartography, a heart‐markedmapwithdetailsetched invisiblyon thesolesofmy feet.13Enacting thestepsofa tacitmutiny divined in the poetry of a rolling wave. Oceanic joys tempered with atroubled mindfulness. The terror of ghostly memories that live embedded in thelegacy of the past, unbowedby time and attempts to rehabilitate space. Barbaritybestconfrontedfacetoface,facetoplace,daytoday,withanoperativeopennessforsupporting the margins and acts of largesse. I kiss my welcome to country fromGumbaingirrpeopleandtreasuretheirfriendship.Acknowledgingwithrespecttheirdreaming, the elders and care for country. I acknowledge the disregard for thedreaming, the elders and care for country that my ancestors display. WithoutpresumptionIenterintoasacredtrustwiththelivingandthedead,thehumanandthenon‐humantobecomeknownhereandtoknow.

These are awkward passions. Passions that refuse to elide thecontradictions,whileseekingagroundforvariedformsofbelongingtoaparticular

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place.Temperedandcomplicatedsomewhatintheordinarydemandsandaffairsofeverydaylife.Suchasfinancialpressure,timeconstraints,employmentopportunity,domesticarrangements,relationshipdifficulties,transport,traffic,fatigue,agingandsoon.HoweverIinvariablyfindmyselfenlivenedbythesea,thecoastalsurroundsand the movement among them. According to the vagary of chance and fortune,rhythmandcycle,windand light, lighteningand thunder, landfall and lowering.Apoeticschoreographedintheproductionofsharedautonomousspace.

This is the performance of bodies celestial, terrestrial and aquatic, humanand non‐human, whose practices are routinely animating sentient archives withauto‐choreographies. Auto‐choreographies present diverse phenomenon forexperiential self–other directed learning, research and creative analysis. Auto‐choreographies might also be considered as a writing practice of flow andmovement, anchored inplace‐sensitive accounts.Thesemovements are consonantwith the conditions of life and matter, which perform an auto‐choreography ofcomplex intricacy and extremity, in the swirling dervish of the cosmos. Auto‐choreographies can thereforebe theorised, as theperformance, improvisationandmutualityofmovementswithinadynamicfield.Thisallowsforacomplexdiversityof interactions between actors and agencies, in the broadest sense, of livingorganisms‐in‐the‐environment‐in‐the‐cosmos.Iamsweptupinanorchestrationnotofmymakingbutoneworthyofmycuriosityandengagement.

Iconsidersentientarchivestobemaintainedintheconvolutionandfluxofamulti‐facetedmaterialrecord.14Theformulationofthesecomplexmaterialsurfacesresoundswithaparticularfeelforaplace(particularspace‐times).Theatmosphereofthesesignificantlifeforcesandrelationsprovideinquiriesforasensuousformofscholarship. The sinuosity of these imaginative‐material elements, the shape andshiftofactionandinteraction,coalesceinmanifestecologies.InIndigenousecologythiswould refer to places of power or sites of increase fromwhich clever peopledrawwisdombutotherwise liveday today.These significant sites are thresholdsandportalswhichofferpassageintothepedagogyofplace.BythisImeantheartoflearning fromaparticularplace tobean inhabitantof a shared community, livingtogetherinkinshipasorganisms‐in‐the‐environment.Thenewecologyassertssuchan ethic for rethinking the fragmented landscapes and habitat depletion ofcolonisationandcapitalism.

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Such an ethic andpedagogy of place demands a commitment to particularlandscapes,immersioninthefield,creativemethodologiesandethicalinterventionscontra to the assumptions of human dominance and untroubled exploitation. Iproposethisasanagendaforruralculturalstudiesandtheecologicalhumanities,tocontribute to andprovidemulti‐sited,multi‐voicedand situatedanalysis.15 I agreewithDeborahRose’s argument for scholarship that facesenvironmental crisis andbeginstoworkwiththechallengesitconfronts,mindfulofnotredoublingthefolly.16Bydrawingonpatternand confusion, traceanderasure,mythandmemory, storyandnarrative,byworkingamongthevolatileandsensitivedetailof thesenses,allimplicatedinfraughtrelationshipstoandinplace.

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Eachoneofus,then,shouldspeakofhisroads,crossroads,hisroadsidebenches;eachoneofusshouldmakeasurveyor’smapofhislostfieldsandmeadows.Thoreausaidthathehadamapofhisfieldsengravedinhissoul.

GastonBachelard,ThePoeticsofSpace17Twohighwaysrunthroughmysoul,thenewandtheold.Theexistinghighwaygoesstraight through my everyday life. On one side the marshy wetland of coastalforeshore and haphazard settlement. On the other, mixed acreage farms andhomesteadswithbananas,blueberries,tomatoes,coffee,cattleandpot.Allhemmedin by ridges and valleys at the foot of the Great Dividing Range and state forest.Thesearepocketswherethemountainrangepushesclosetothecoast.AfragmentofPacificHighway,dottedbytoonumerousroadsidememorials(theirremains)andthespectreoftragicaccidents.Dayandnighttheblackserpenttransportsthousandsofunsuspectingvehicleswiththeirpassengers,eachtakingtheirchances,justasyouand I do. Even in the abandonof a cardboard sign, a person asks for a ride, amidroadside smog and mayhem. Mega‐trucks, trucks, buses, vans, bikes, heavymachinery, wide‐loads, police, ambulance, fire‐trucks, luxury cars and old bombs,enervatethestripwithbeguilingrhythm.Whentheswellruns,sodothenumberofvehiclesloadedwithsurfboards,headingupanddownthecoastchasingwaves.Thethrill mitigates the thought of tragedy. As do numerous other necessities and

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desires.Theappealoftheduallanecarriagewayconnectswiththeplausibleideaofhead‐onproofingtheroad.Butabypassherewouldbebliss.

Thestretchofoldhighwaywindsforseveralkilometresinascribbledlooponthewesternsideofitspredecessor.Delightfullymisleadingbyheadingwestward,betraying access to the coast which is offered by an adjoining road and highwayoverhead,intothevillagewheremyhouseisashortwalktoWitches.Ifyoufollowtheoldhighwaybackfromthesouthernexit,youdrivethroughsmallacreage,pastthelocalprimaryschoolandontheleftJohnsons,HollowaysandMorgansroads.Onthesebackroadswhichfilterdiscretelyintothestateforest,youarelikelytopassanoldbombor four‐wheel‐driveworkingvehicle;nevertheless, eachpassing carwillgiveyouawave.Thedeeperyoupressintothesehills,themoreconspicuoustheidlewanderbecomes.Like the story Iheardof the fellowwhowentaround tellinghismountainneighboursofthepurchaseofanewfour‐wheeldrive,toavertthealarmthismightcause.TherearealsoanumberofIndianbananagrowersandblueberryfarmers.Topassworkingmenwithturbansandwomenwithsarisiscommonplace.Ihave lived inHollowaysRoad, inanold farmsteadrented froman Indianbananagrower. In those days rents were cheap, unemployment high and the dole betterthan a banana labourer’swages. The erawhenBobHawke’s surf teammadedolebludgingappealing,despitethestigmaandhardship.

Theonly right‐handexitbeforeyou rejoin thePacificHighway isDiamondHead Drive, so named after the large headland at the southern end of the beach.Wavespeelingoffthepoint(arareevent)istheinsigniaoftheprimaryschoolbadgewith themotto ‘learn to live’;youcannothelpbut think ‘learn tosurf’.Thepared‐downethosgrowsonyouafterawhile.Iwonderhowmuchthepedagogyofplacemight filter into the futurecurriculum, fromprimary throughsecondaryandon totertiaryeducation,particularlyat the (bio)‐regionaluniversitywhere Iwork.18 It’snotuncommon formetohave first‐yearundergraduates inmyclasseswho Ihaveseengrowfromtoddlersoffriendsandacquaintancesintoyoungadultsintheirownright.Thevalueofpromotingcritical,culturalandecologicalliteracy,asagrassrootsplace‐based approach to bio‐regional questions, seems a clear and presentimperative.

DiamondHeadDriveliftsupoverahillandgraduallyfallsintotheswampywetlandadjoining thebeach.Thehighwaycuttinggoesatrightangles throughthe

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hillandtheonlyaccesspoint to thevillage isanoverheadbridge.Thisdivides thesmall village—as the graffiti ‘Westside’ on the bus shelter signifies. A beachsidetelegraph pole marks different turf, with the scrawl 245motherfuckin6 brazenlycarvedintothewood,continuingthepostcodetrendtheBraBoyssadlypopularised.Therearetheobligatory‘localsonly’signs,positionedattheendoftheroadleadingto the back beach. Ironically, the village of about three hundred dwellings sits onconvertedfarmlandtheearlyselectorsprisedfromtheGumbaingirr,courtesyoftheRobinson Land Act of 1861. They selected land here from the 1880s, on thecondition of cutting down trees, putting up fences, raising crops and buildingdwellings.Theygainedaccessbysea,intheshelterofaheadlandjustnorthofhere,and began a process of colonisationwhich gradually displaced Gumbaingirr fromtheir semi‐nomadic coastal haunts (evidence of which abounds in widespreadmiddens, axe factories andmeeting places). They re‐enacted the same encountersfirstplayedoutatKurnell.

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Thediscoverersstrugglingthroughthesurfweremetonthebeachesbyotherpeoplelookingatthemfromtheedgesofthetrees.Thusthesamelandscapeperceivedbythenewcomersasalien,hostileorhavingnocoherentformwastotheindigenouspeopletheirhome,afamiliarcountry,theinspirationofdreams.

RhysJones,OrderingtheLandscape19Theironyoftheseconflictingperceptionsoflandscapecontinuestobeplayedoutinthe deceptive neo‐colonial authority of capitalism. The impact of the colonialaftermath remains unresolved, and reconciliation still languishes on both sides ofSORRY.Non‐indigenousrelationstocountry,too,oftencontinuetobeframedinthefraught terms of alienation, hostility and confusion. The perceived need for animposedordertocontroltheenvironment(insteadofdevelopment)isindicativeofadeeperignorancewhichredoublesthethreats.Effortstoalleviatetheseanxietiesand insecurities, paradoxically, wreak more havoc, and further exacerbate thesituation.Anthropogenicclimatechangepresentsnoshock to thosewell‐versed inthehistoryofdegradationinthiscountry:deforestation,soilerosion,risingsalinity,

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air and water pollution, mineral extraction, chemical and biological waste,construction, industrialisation and landscape modification. Existential challengesarefuelledbysolutionsoftenworsethantheproblemsandvalorisedinavernacularhumanism,perpetuatedinthemythicnarrativeofhelpingyourmatesinthefaceofacrisis,asifthisissomethingonlyAustraliansdo.

On the mid‐north coast I am concerned with the sub‐region identified byPlanningNSWastheCoffsCoast(TourismNSWreferstotheareacrasslyasNature’sThemePark). In this sub‐region, the chief threat to retaining biodiversity and thesound ecology, imperative for a bio‐regional response to environmental crisis,comes fromhuman activitywhich represents bothproblemandpossible solution.Thetwoconsiderationswhichalsoserveaskeyindicatorsofthecurrentchallengesand pressures are the upgrade of the highway to dual carriageway (vehementlyopposed by residents and community organisations) and the Mid North CoastDevelopment Strategy, which moots projections for Coffs Harbour to increaseindustrial landbyeighty‐threehectaresand forecasts18,600newdwellingsalongthe Coffs Coast. While the rhetoric ensures consideration of sensitive coastallocationsandnaturalenvironments,therealitiesarealwayslesssecured.

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I’minterestedintheweather.Whoisn’t?Wegroomfortheatmosphere.Dailyweapplyourmothers’prognosticstothesky.Weselectourgarmentsaccordingly;likeflagsorvaneswesignify.ButI’minterestedinweatheralsobecauseculturaldisplacementhasshownmethatweatherisrhetoric.Furthermore,itistherhetoricofsincerity,fallinginasoothing,familialvernacular.It’sexpressedbetweenfriendlystrangers.Ispeakittoyou.Abeautifulmorning.Youspeakitback.Thefoghaslifted.Wearenowasociety.

LisaRobertson,‘TheWeather:AReportonSincerity’20AfterlunchtimeonasultrysummerafternoonIquicklylookatthemeagresurfanddecidetohaveacoffeebeforeaquickgo‐out.IpopintotheSaltwaterRestaurantforatake‐awaycoffee.Therestaurantoverlooksthebeachandhasbeenrefurbishedanumberof timessince itsoriginal incarnationastheEsmeraldaHolidayUnits.The

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currentpremisesaremoreupmarket,withaswishalacartérestaurantdownstairsandathree‐bedroomluxuryapartmentupstairs.Thetake‐awayserviceisprovidedforregularclienteleandlocals.WhileIamwaitingInoticeatannedmiddle‐ageguybookingintotheapartment,collectingthekeysandmakingarrangementsforalargedinnerpartyupstairs that evening.Twentyminutes laterweareboth standingontheshoreabout topaddleout. I givehimaquickwelcomingnodandsussout themini‐malhe isholding.Hisphysique tellsmehesurfsacoupleof timesaweekormainlyweekendsandisprobablynotatotalkook.Icouldbewrong.

Thewavesaresmallbutthewaterisabalm.TherearepatchycloudsrollingawayinthedistancetowardGroperIslandandafternoonlightbathesthescene.Isitwaiting forawave that takesmy interest,butnotmanydo, today.Thedude looksmyway and so begins the exchange of pleasantries.Water fine, sunwarm, beatsworking,wouldnotbedeadforquids.Idrawthelineandcatchashittylittlewave.Ican see where this is going and feel defensive. Nonetheless, in the course ofintermittentexchanges,hefindsoutIamintoculturalresearchandecology,whileIdiscover he is a landscape architect for developers up and down South EastQueensland(wecomeinafterthedevelopersandcleanup,hesays).Iliveoverthenextheadlandandhe livesat thenorthernextremeofNewSouthWalesatFingal.Weagreethatavibrantcoastalecologyneedstoberetainedand,moreso,renewed.However,Iamuneasywhenhesuggeststhemarketwilltakecareofthecoast.Thenotionofprofessionalpeoplemovingtothecoast,buyinguplandandadvocatingforrestrainedlandusejustsomehowdoesn’tsitright.Asmall,well‐formedwavetakesmefromoneendofthebeachtotheotherandIleavewithmoretroubledthoughts.Like,whatthefuckishedoinghere?

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Theword‘love’comestomind.Loveissocentraltoplacethatitshimmersonthehorizonofmuchofourwriting.HowwouldwebringloveintotheheartofwritingplaceIdonotexactlyknow.Forethicalreasonsandforthefutureofscholarshipandthefutureofplaces,Ibelievewemustdoso.

DeborahBirdRose,WritingPlace21

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—7 FEBRUARY 2009, ‘SHELLEYS’: EXCERPTS FROM THE SECOND WALK22

Thisistheculminationoffivedaysofintenseimmersion,surfinganentireswellinone location, forup to sevenhours aday.Themorning sessions are around threehours and the afternoon sessions from 4 pm until sunset. There is a certainmomentumleadinguptoanyfullmoon,butonoccasionthisbecomesmoreclearlydefined.Particularlywhenanygivenweathersystemlocksintoaconducivepatternforsurfing.Theordinarybanalityofweatherdescriptionbecomeseroticisedwhensurfing prognostics are heightened in the pull of compelling conditions. Take, forexample, the curving gradient of one system, tightening around another system’spulsatingenergy.

In this instance, long‐range swell intervals were accompanied by subtlezephyrs,pantingupontheglassysurfaceof luminousbottle‐green liquidexpanses.Sinkingintotheviscousembraceoftheline‐up,thesurfboards’buoyancyoffersthebestseatsinthehouse.Fijiisdevastated,Queenslandhalfunderwaterandonethirdof Victoria alight. This ismuchmore than a straightforward account of a realisedgratification, cheap anthropomorphism or ‘self‐enthronement’.23 The love for anyplace becomes layered in bittersweet associations, attachments and connections,whichtranscendtheclaimsof theautonomous individualsubject.Thesearch foralanguageorwritingpractice thatmightnonethelessarticulate thewonderand theaffectisbeguiling.

Theafternoonwearsonbeautifully (likea favouredgarment)with thesunsinkingandthemoonrisinginunison.Thissetsupapeculiarbutfittinglandscapeiconography. Between waves and in the rhythm of long intervals, I quaff theunfoldingscene inaheadymixof sensorystimulus.24There isaperiod late in theday when I am the only one surfing the cove. The moon is hovering over theheadlandwithsuchsweetinfluence.Thesunsettingovertherange,etchingdetailswhichotherwiseareobscuredinthedistance.Adistancecontrastedfurtherbytwoitemsof Indigenousandnon‐Indigenousdreaming, theSouthSolitary IslandswiththelighthousetotheeastandMountCorambawiththecommunicationtowertothewest.Theorangeblobandthepearlplanethangmomentarilyaspolaropposites.

Thescenebecomesenchantedanddreamlike.Thereisabrahminykiteflyingbackandforthinacircuit,fromtheentranceoftheheadlandcave,tothebeachandback.Thelightfromthesunisnowloweringonthelandscapedhorizon,acrossthe

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valley to the mountain backdrop. Kangaroos grazing on the hill move aboutpositioning themselves to take in the sunset. Backlit from this angle the sea turnsintoanoilyebonymass,awrithingsurfaceofsilktopaddleon.Oncomingswellsriseandfallbeneathbodyandboardwhichgurglethroughthewateronthepaddlebackout. The headland in this filtered light looms in the left of frame, as a benignpresence watching over the proceedings. This is a beach where turtles leave onocean journeys, across the Pacific to Peru and back to the very placewhere theywereborn.

Onthewave,theglareofgoldenlightissoblindingthattheridebecomesallfeelandlessreliantonsight.Thesurfaceconditionsprovidesuchsmoothnessunderfootthattheslidebecomesadance.Thetideistoppingandthewavesarelongandfull,standingupenoughtocatch,butthenbackingoffintosolidmarbleslabs.Theyshimmerthroughthewaterawayfromthebayanddowntheline.Ridingunbrokenwavesisusuallythepreserveoftow‐insurfing,butthe‘Fish’Iamridingisperfectlysuitedforcatchingandridingthesetypesofwaves.ThewavegavesurfingandtheHawaiiansagifttoplanetaryoceanicculture,theboardletusride.Surfersplaywiththe ontology of various designs to support their own pursuit of flow states andrecursivelivingthatkeepsthelandandseainconstantconnectivity.25

Ileavethewaterbeforethesunfullysets,wantingtotakeinthesceneonceagainfromtheheadland,beforedark.Iclamberupthetrackofbraidedpathswornbytherepetitionofcountlesssteps.HalfwayupIpause,lookingoutontheserenityofthecovewiththethrilloftheafternoonlingeringinmybody.Atthetop,Istandtalkingtoacouplewhoaresittingonapicnicblanketsippingwine.Youlookedlikeyouwerehaving fun, thewomansays (I recognisehernowasadisabilitysupportworkerinsomeofmyclasses).Ismileintheglowinglightandfeelasthoughmyfaceand the sky merge. Mist is rolling off the foreshore scrub and the whole spacebecomesnarcotic.

InthecarparkIbecomeawaremymindisspareofthoughtandmybodyfulloffeeling.Idrivethroughthegatewayofthenaturereserve;thisoncewasanactualgatewhich surferswould leaveopen, to the ireof farmers.At the topof the rise Ipassagirlpedallingapushbikeover thehill.As I gopastandbeginmydescent, Ilook in the rear‐visionmirror, she leansbackandstopspedalling,her longbrownhair is flowing in thebreezeand I catchaglimpseofaMonaLisasmile. I takemy

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footoff theacceleratorandourspeedssynchronise.Themusic fillingthecargivesthewholesequenceelectricity.Birdsthroughtheair,surfersonawaveorpaddlingaround, fish in thewater,walkers on the beach, animals along bush paths, loverssittingonaheadland,akidonaskateboard,turtlesatsea,thegirlonabikeandevenmeinthecar.Theyarejustsomeoftheauto‐choreographiesanimatingthesentientarchivesofeverydayplaces.Thestuffweliveandwrite.26

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Eachleafarunnel Roofsnowskiffsingreen I’veneverdoneanything Butbegin.

LisaRobertson,TheWeather27By way of conclusion, the philosophy of research methodologies and everydaypractices belongs in cultural studies but aspires to self‐reflexivity, critique andtransformation in every epistemological and ontological context, according to theindeterminate logic of what we study and a backward ingenuity that gives anelement of surprise. Lisa Robertson, in her analysis of Atget’s interiors,makes anastuteobservationwhichbearsonacademicpractice:‘Wemightrecognisetheshapeof change.This is called research. It intuits absence among thematerials.’28 In thecontext of climate, globalisation and capitalism, reading the shape of changebecomes intensified with simultaneity.29 Everyday life studies and place‐basedperspectivesallowsareadingofwhatMasseycalls‘space‐timeenvelopes’thatspeaklikeamessageinabottlefromthe‘annalsofeverydaylife’.30Inthemodestconcernsoflimitedcasestudiesandplace‐basedperspectives,oneaspirestobecomeawriterofwhat falls beneath the historical gaze as ‘non‐history’.31 To take up a jumble ofinteresting materials, for artfulness and thoughts about how to live andcommunicate.Towritelikeanelectricalstormandreadlikethepoetryofarollingwave,which,afterBachelard,strikesachordinthereader.32AsIreadonabumpersticker on a purple Kombi, ‘Why be normal?’. I thus summarise my manifesto toreclaimcompleteacademicfreedomasanactofauto‐choreography.33

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Kim Satchell is a Mid North Coast surfer and academic undertaking doctoralresearchwithaprojectwritingplaceandaphilosophyofresearchmethodology.Heteaches cultural studies at Southern CrossUniversity CoffsHarbour, does culturalresearch with the Centre for Peace and Social Justice and is a co‐editor ofKurungabaa, a journal for literature, history and ideas for surfers.<kim.satchell@scu.edu.au>

—ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Iwould like to thank theCulturalResearchNetwork, theconvenorsand theparticipants for the twoRuralCulturalStudiesworkshopsthatledtothispaper.Thankstothetwoanonymousrefereeswhosegenerative responses to an earlier draft, both nourished and guided the further refinement ofexpression and scholarship. Imust expressmy gratitude to Clifton Evers and Emily Potter for theirchallenges,understandingandsupportthroughouttheprocess.

—NOTES

1TimIngoldandLeeVergunst(eds),WaysofWalking:EthnographyandPracticeonFoot,Ashgate,Aldershot,2008,p.1.2 Fordoctoral researchbasedupon twoplace‐centred case studies,which connect together in sevendifferentwalks foraprojectwritingplaceandaphilosophyof researchmethodology.This followsamethodologicalorientationtoplace,afterHenryDavidThoreau,WaldenandCivilDisobedience,Harperand Row, New York, 1958 and Jean‐Jacques Rousseau, Reveries of a Solitary Walker, Penguin,Middlesex,1979.Fromwhich,inregardtoRousseauandothers,MichelSerrestheorisesanapproachknown as ‘la randonnée’ the random circuit. See Pierre Saint‐Amand, ‘Contingency and theEnlightenment’,Substance,83,1997,pp.96–107.3FreyaMathews,ReinhabitingReality:TowardsaRecoveryofCulture,SUNYPress,NewYork.4PeterSlater,PatSlaterandRaoulSlater,TheSlaterFieldGuidetoAustralianBirds,Landsdowne–RigbyPublishers,Willoughby,1986,p.186.5BetweenthevillageofSandyBeachandthetownofWoolgoolga.6RaymondWilliams,TheCountryand theCity,TheHogarthPress,London,1985.Williams’masterlyexposition of settlement and change is instructive, from both literary and placed perspectives. Seechapter 25, ‘Cities and Countries’, for his prescient commentary upon environmental crisis whichbringsintofocustheimportanceofcriticaldecisionmaking.7DoreenMassey, ‘LandscapeasaProvocation:ReflectionsonMovingMountains’, JournalofMaterialCulture,11,2006,pp.33–48.8Slater,pp.186.9NatacheeScottMomaday,TheWaytoRainyMountain,UniversityofNewMexicoPress,Albuquerque,1969,p.83.10PaulaSaukko,DoingResearchinCulturalStudies:AnIntroductiontoClassicalandNewMethodologicalApproaches,Sage,London,2003;MichealPryke,GillianRoseandSarahWhatmore(eds),UsingSocial

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Theory: Thinking through Research, Sage, London, 1993; Simon Coleman and Peter Collins (eds),LocatingtheField:Space,PlaceandContextinAnthropology,Berg,Oxford,2006.11SeeHenriLefebvre,TheProductionofSpace,BlackwellPublishing,Carlton,1991.12MichaelTaussig,MyCocaineMuseum,UniversityofChicagoPress,Chicago,2004.13AlphonsoLingus,FirstPersonSingular,NorthwesternUniversityPress,Evanston,2007,seechapterthree,‘WhereIAm’.14DeborahBirdRose, ‘FreshWaterRights andBiophilia: IndigenousPerspectives’,dialogue,vol. 23,2004,pp.35–43;BenHighmore,MichelDeCerteau:AnalysingCulture,Continuum,London,2006,p.21:‘requiresdifferentkindsofarchivestobeimaginedandmade’.15Saukko,Doing.DonnaHarraway, ‘SituatedKnowledges:TheScienceQuestion inFeminismandthePrivilegeofthePartialPerspective’,FeministStudies,vol.14,no.3,pp.575–99,1988.16 Deborah Bird Rose, ‘Writing Place’, in Ann Curthoys and Ann McGrath (eds),Writing Histories:ImaginationandNarrative,MonashPublicationsinHistory,Melbourne,2000,pp.64–74.17GastonBachelard,ThePoeticsofSpace,BeaconPress,Boston,1969,p.11.18 See an exemplary project:Margaret Somerville,Becoming­Frog: A Primary School Place Pedagogy,2007,<http://www.aare.edu.au/07paps/som07443.pdf>.19RhysJones,‘OrderingtheLandscape’,inDinahDysart(ed.),EdgeoftheTrees,HistoricHousesTrustofNewSouthWales,Sydney,2000.20LisaRobertson,‘TheWeather:AReportonSincerity’,ChicagoReview,51:4&52:1,Spring2006,pp.28–37.21Rose,Place,p.74.22 Kim Satchell, SevenWalks towards a Coastal Philosophy: A Field Guide to the Transformation ofEverydayLife,unpublishedmanuscript.23 Jason Cowley. ‘The New NatureWriting’, Editor’s Letter in Jason Cowley (ed.), ‘The New NatureWriting’,Granta:MagazineforNewWriting,102,Granta,London,2008,p.9.24DavidAbram,TheSpelloftheSensuous,RandomHouse,NewYork,1996.25 Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Isabella Csikszentmihalyi (eds), Optimal Experience: PsychologicalStudiesofFlowConsciousness,CambridgeUniversityPress,Oakleigh,1988.26HenriLefebrve,WritingonCities,BlackwellPublishing,Oxford,1996.27LisaRobertson,TheWeather,NewStarBooks,Vancouver,2007,p.78.28 Lisa Robertson,Occasional Work and SevenWalks from the Office for Soft Architecture, Clear CutPress,Astoria,2003,pp.198,199.29MichelFoucault,‘OfOtherSpace’,Diacritics,vol.16,no.1,pp.22–7,1986.30 DoreenMassey, ‘Places and their Pasts’,HistoryWorkshop Journal, 39, pp. 182–92, 1995. See DeCerteau’sentréeinPracticevol2,titled‘TheAnnalsofEverydayLife’.31Highmore,Certeau,seechapter2,‘AnEpistemologicalAwakening:HistoryandWriting’.32Bachelard,Poetics,p.100:‘asortofmusicalchordwouldsoundinthesoulofthereader’.33KimSatchell,TheWangofDo:TheArtofAuto‐choreography,unpublishedmanuscript.TheSufiisinadream,hehastoliveup‐side‐downandback‐the‐front,learningeverythingintuitivelythroughspatialmovement.Hefindshimselfstandingontheceilingandfromthemomentheslidesdownthewallandbeginstoflow,everythingbeginstomakesense.Hebecomesasurferandfearsonedayhewillwakeup.Surfingmakesperfectsense,asafieldofoperationsinwhichtoperform,whatbecameknownasTheWangofDoorTheWayofMethod.