To Feel As A Rock

Petti, Danielle

To Feel As A Rock

Files

Petti_Danielle_mfa_2025_thesis.pdf (94.19 MB)

Date

2025-07-31

Authors

Petti, Danielle

Abstract

This thesis dossier and the accompanying exhibition Brought to our knees to feel as a Rock explore how geological processes and deep timescales challenge anthropocentric perspectives while opening new pathways for artmaking. Unfolding through an inquiry into foraging as an artistic method, the ethics of extraction, and engagement with sustainable art practices, this research aims to understand how intimate knowledge and relationship with Land can be cultivated. Drawing on theories of consciousness, including panpsychism, animism, and vital materialism, the thesis frames artistic gesture as a site of transformation, inclusive of nonhuman mark-making. These concepts are enacted through research-creation, documented within, and artworks that re-enact deep time using paper pulp and rock-derived pigments. Finally, a focused case study of Dove Bradshaw’s practice illustrates how her work centres entropy as a model for material collaboration over time.

Summary for Lay Audience

This thesis dossier and the accompanying exhibition Brought to our knees to feel as a Rock culminate from two years of research into how geological processes and timescales can guide approaches to artmaking that highlight the materials. It explores how practices such as foraging for pigment, working with biodegradable or recycled materials, and embracing entropy can foster more intimate, reciprocal relationships with Land. The thesis discusses theories of panpsychism, animism, and vital materialism, all of which consider how materials themselves might participate in consciousness and creative acts. Through material experimentation and artworks, documented in the dossier, I re-enact geological rhythms using handmade paper and rock-based pigments. A case study of artist Dove Bradshaw illustrates how collaboration with natural forces—such as chemical reactions, erosion, and time—can become central to artistic process and meaning.