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Manchage Manexit: What does it mean to walk the trail?

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The three interpretive signs in this first section of the trail, "What does it mean to walk the trail?", invite the viewer to consider their relationality to the other beings in the vicinity, particularly the trees. They follow the three levels of understanding and introspection introduced in earlier panels1.

Click the images on this page for a larger version of each sign.

Shown below, the I am budding sign in this series includes the following text:

Image of the 'I am budding' sign in the 'What does it mean to walk the trail?' series.

TO BE SEEN
Manchage Manexit Reflective Trail

New Moon: Ashkasheki Tuppuhquam Nepauz
What does it mean to walk the trail? 

As you move in/out
take time to focus on 
how your
body is
stimulated. 

Do you hear the trees or
other living beings
around you? 

What do you feel below your feet?

--
The text in this sign is arranged creatively throughout the page, with alignment that prompts the reader to slowly consider the words. Beneath the phrase "What do you feel below your feet" is a horizontal line with this same text reflected upside down.

 

Image of the 'I am sprouting' sign in the 'What does it mean to walk the trail?' series.Shown to the left, the I am sprouting sign in this series includes the following text:

TO BE SEEN
Manchage Manexit Reflective Trail

New moon: Kesanooteau Nepauz
What does it mean to walk the trail?

Where is the oxygen you breathe coming from?

YEEUT (here).

What does it
mean to be
here?

When did
this place
become known
as
"forest"?

Think about the labor
of the trees that
sustains all life. 

TOH A QUOMPI?
(when?)

--
The text in this sign is arranged creatively, with alignment that prompts the reader to slowly consider the order in which the words should be read. The phrase "YEEUT (here)." connects downward via a straight dotted line to a curved, solid line. From this solid line, another straight, dotted line connects to the phrase "TOH A QUOMPI? (when?)".

Below, the I am growing sign in this series includes the following text:

Image of the 'I am growing' sign in the 'What does it mean to walk the trail?' series.

TO BE SEEN
Manchage Manexit Reflective Trail

New Moon: Adchaeu Nepauz
What does it mean to walk the trail? 

hunting moon [text forms semicircle around winding lines that depict waterways]

The land and everything on it is
constantly in flux. 

Where do YOU see this change around YOU?

What have the
trees seen?

Where do YOU
see this
change
being suppressed? 

What have the trees seen? 

--
Below the question "Where do YOU see this change around YOU?", a curved line separates the two instances of "What have the trees seen?" and runs through the silhouette of a tree. The tree silhouette is slightly different on either side of the line; this difference is only perceptible upon close inspection. 

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1The signs follow the three levels of understanding and introspection as introduced in earlier panels. "Ribbon I - I am budding" is symbolized by a hand closed with the pinky finger outstretched; "Ribbon II - I am sprouting" shows a hand with the two smallest fingers outstretched and the thumb closed over the pointer and index fingers; "Ribbon III - I am growing" shows a hand with all fingers closed except the index finger, which points assertively upward. 

Back to the full trail description

  1. Introductory panels
  2. Panels 1-3: "What does it mean to walk the trail?"
  3. Panels 4-6: "What does it mean to be here?"
  4. Panels 7-9: "What does it mean to take this place with you?"