Playing with Snow: Bending and Rolling
With: Luuk, Lisa and Neighbour Kids
WG, Amsterdam, 16 December 2018
Making a snowman is not just a winter pastime; it's an embodiment of playful collaboration, where the physicality of the act intertwines with social interaction and shared sense-making. In the selected photographs you see four youngsters, bundled up in layers of winter clothing, eagerly venturing out into the freshly fallen snow.
As they gather around a mound of snow, their movements begin to synchronize, guided not only by their individual intentions but also by an emergent collective goal: to build a snowman. This process mirrors the notion of participatory sense-making put forth by De Jaegher and Di Paolo, where individuals engage in joint activities, making sense through embodied interaction.
In the midst of shaping the snow into the body of the snowman, rhythm emerges. Their movements become coordinated, each action flowing seamlessly into the next. In the act of bending and rolling snow to form snowballs, there's a beautiful embodiment of enactivism, where cognition is seen as rooted in bodily action and situated within a social context. Each movement of bending down, scooping up snow, and rolling it into a ball is not merely a mechanical process but an active engagement with the environment, shaped by the individual's goals and intentions, as well as the dynamics of the group. This rhythmic coordination is vital for the success of their endeavor, highlighting the interconnectedness of their actions and the shared intentionality driving their collaboration.
Enactivism emphasizes the role of embodied action in shaping our understanding of the world. In the context of building a snowman, the physical engagement of the youngsters goes beyond mere manipulation of snow; it becomes a means of sense-making and mutual understanding. Through their actions, they negotiate the contours of the snowman's form, each adjustment informed by the feedback loop of their collaborative effort. In the case of rolling snowballs, the physical sensations of cold, the resistance of the snow, and the effort required to mold it all play a crucial role in shaping the youngsters' understanding of their task. Through their bodily actions, they actively engage with the properties of the snow, adjusting their movements in response to its texture and consistency.
As the youngsters gather around the snow pile, they enter into a shared space of collaborative sense-making. Their actions are not isolated; they are interconnected, forming a complex system of mutual influence and adaptation. The rhythm of their movements emerges organically, guided by an implicit understanding of their collective goal: to construct a snowman.The youngsters communicate hardly through words but mainly through gestures, expressions, and shared bodily rhythms. Enactivism emphasizes that cognition is distributed across the entire system of interacting agents, in this case, the group of youngsters working together to bring their snowman to life.
Coordination is key in the snowball-making process. Each youngster bends down, scoops up snow, and rolls it into a ball with a fluidity that belies their individual efforts. Their movements synchronize, creating a rhythm that propels their collaborative endeavor forward. This coordination is not imposed from above but emerges from the dynamic interaction between the youngsters, their environment, and the task at hand.
Moreover, this process of bending and rolling snowballs illustrates the concept of participatory sense-making. As the youngsters work together, they share their perceptions, intentions, and actions, co-creating meaning in the process. Their individual contributions merge to form a collective understanding of how to effectively shape the snowballs, guided by an implicit agreement on the desired outcome.
As the snowman takes shape, the sense of accomplishment is palpable. Each youngster has contributed their unique skills and ideas to the collaborative endeavor, reinforcing the idea that meaning is not something that exists solely within individuals but is instead co-constructed through social interaction and embodied engagement.
The act of bending and rolling snowballs exemplifies enactivism in action. It highlights the inseparability of cognition from embodied action, emphasizing the role of social interaction and collaboration in shaping our understanding of the world. Through their synchronized movements, the youngsters not only build snowballs but also construct shared meaning, reinforcing the interconnectedness of mind, body, and environment in the process of sense-making.
The final act of destroying the snowman, leaving no traces behind, is a poignant moment that encapsulates the ephemeral nature of play and the principles of enactivism. As the youngsters gather around their creation, there's a palpable sense of accomplishment in the air, tempered by the knowledge that their masterpiece is fleeting, destined to melt away with the changing weather. Playfulness permeates the act of destroying the snowman. There's a sense of liberation in dismantling something that was meticulously built, a joyous release of pent-up energy and creativity. As they gleefully tear apart the snowman, the youngsters are actively engaged in the moment, fully immersed in the physicality of their actions and the shared experience of play.
Yet, even as the snowman disappears, its memory lives on in the shared experience of the youngsters. Enactivism emphasizes the importance of interaction and collaborative sense-making in shaping our understanding of the world. In this case, the act of building and destroying the snowman becomes a shared narrative, a story that binds the youngsters together in a moment of collective play and creativity.