Grazing Between Two Worlds
Grazing Between Two Worlds, Mia + Eric, 2021, collaborative, participatory artwork
Grazing Between Two Worlds is a collaborative project between Mia + Eric, a shepherdess, and 180 goats. After three years of volunteering as goat herders on McHugh Bluff in Calgary and building personal relationships with many of the goats, Mia + Eric decided to create a performance with the goats as a thank you for their labour. Using weeds and other plants that are commonly eaten by the goats while working, Mia created several dye baths and dyed purpose-built costumes that allowed the artists to attach plants to their bodies. As moving weed stores, the artists were able to encourage the goats to move from one grazing area to another while nibbling away at their costumes. Dressed as hybrid goat herders/moving trough, the artists put their bodies into the landscape— between the bluff as it is and an imagined future bluff that the goats are working to create.
