in opposition to the north

as a hegemonic reference

I have two wings, a strong cry and collectivity

a green one, as guidance


the presence in flight

of many from the south

that in their noise

are seen, heard, and celebrated


beyond a process of adaptation

an affirmation

”here we are!“, they exclaim

in a superimposed sound

never in unison


aftermath of history

expressions of the border,

of the crossing.


the margin as encounter

their voices as an expression of life

of struggle

of strength

of home.For further immersion, please access: https://soundcloud.com/rdaibert/cotorradio

I am starting this text with a poem I wrote during the development of my soundpiece CotorradioDaibert, Raphael (2021): Cotorradio, online at https://soundcloud.com/rdaibert/cotorradio [16.07.22]. [cotorrear – verb in Spanish; action derived from the bird cotorra (parakeet) which means to gossip, to bring information forward, share knowledge in an informal way], written in the context of a residency in Barcelona in March 2021. As an outcome of my ongoing research on tropical birds living in urban European spaces, I draw attention to contemporary social issues through the observation and interpretation of other species’ realities, their resilient lives and the possible parallels (or not) with intersectional human questions. An example to illustrate the multiplicity I am constantly being crossed by. A poetic contribution in the form of a text connecting my multiple selves (as an artist, researcher, academic) combined, not only with my efforts and thinking, but the ones I sense, feel and see in my not-only-human surroundings.

Intentionally aiming to blur certain binaries (preferring to use here ‘all binaries’, rapidly taken back to unfortunately not being truly applicable to our current reality), attuning ears (sight) and eyes (listening) are the basis of what my practice consists of [skylifters – practices and/or practitioners that/who act with/in connection to nature enacting different knowledge through different forms]. A combination of observations – sonic, visual, tactile, and relational – together with the wish of sharing and learning, simultaneously. With the aim of shifting perspectives, taking into account what (else) surrounds us: physically, spiritually, non-geographically, non-humanly, my interest lies in de-centering the human [​​(des)peçonhentizar – peçonhento: word in Portuguese that denotes something poisonous, directly connected to animals that carry deadly substances; des: negation prefix; despeçonhentizar: to “unpoison” sterilize, rationalize, westernize a subject, land, person, being]. The virtue of working from an artistic perspective is the poetic possibility of not only imagining, but doing​​Muñoz, José Esteban (2009): Cruising utopia. The Then and There of Queer Futurity. New York and London, New York University Press. otherwise – as Esteban Muñoz once said.

A methodology based on lived baggage (and theory) constantly present as the foundation ground of any sharing, any learning process, any collaboration: from a human versus nature to a human as nature point of view. By human-versus, I mean the normative (cisgender-straight-white-western-male) one. How to escape such long-standing ideals? May the AN-THRO-PO-faggot be this human, this reference. Through cherishing the non-conforming being: body, thinking, soul, specie – a queer way of living. Leaving one’s territory, learning from the journey, the new continuation, the constant beginning. A collective impulse inspired by flocks of birds, water currents and tides.

Knowledge of all kinds, in all forms. Attentiveness. The attention to one’s surroundings, letting respect overtake moral values. The beauty of informality. And conviviality: being together, talking beyond the different languages, the importance of difference and how to (re)act from it. Learning from the land, the earth, its materialities. From multiple stories to time and its affirmations: past, present, and future.

This written piece is a proposition of the many intersections that together form what I do and who I am – which are inseparable from one another. It is not at all intended as a final affirmation. But another one. Actually, an opening. Or an attempt to one.