Clustering/Titling Clusters

 

'Clustering is a form of reduction and is a means of managing large amounts of information ‘ [Miecat Inc., 2016, p. 9].

 

We began the process of clustering using the contents from our bags, here we took a moment to engage in the rule of ‘Horizontalization or otherwise known as the Equalization Rule’ as defined by Spinelli [2005]. ‘This rule 'seeks to avoid placing any initial hierarchies of significance or importance upon the items of our descriptions, and instead to treat each initially as having equal value or significance’ [pp. 21]. We placed each item in a horizontal line and spent time noticing and feeling varying responses to these items, attempting to place equal value across them. We then went through a process of reduction which sought to place items in clusters ‘based on their sensed connectedness or shared meaning’ [Miecat Inc., 2016, pp. 10]. This process then asked us to title these clusters. Mine were;

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This is where we took pause and work relationally with a partner. The invitation was for us to provide; a verbal description of our clusters, discuss our process and then allow for our companion to re-arrange the clusters as an intersubjective response. I gave my companion full permission to go wild. This was such a fascinating process to witness. Your belongings, whilst are merely objects, tend to have a vulnerability to them. I realised, when my objects were being rearranged, that it was actually the meditative, considered and intentional choices of space that I felt most connected to. Thus, the final layout of my clusters imbued a visual resonance of how the objects connected the space and highlighted the negative space. It is this moment of ‘dissonance,’ this momentary reaction to the process, that communicated an access point for further reflection and dialogue.