Dying Water: An investigation into the uncommoning, attention, and poetic first-aid in the watery landscape of the River Leven

Reciprocity with the more-than-human world is crucial for creating more positive futures. This is a creative arts practice-led, placed-based inquiry into the fragile environment surrounding the River Leven and Loch Leven. Examining influences such as human relationships to the land and its inhabitants, this dissertation postulates that the area around the River Leven is subject to ‘slow violence’ and unilateral relationships with the more-than-human, including the river, which is explored through a case study. The health of the water and the question of dying water is explored using quantitative data from sourced reports, and qualitative methods which draw upon deep mapping, including Indigenous wisdom, philosophy, literature and anthropology as well as the arts. Methods employed include a case study, close readings, site visits, observations and creative, practice-led methods such as responsive drawing, photography, sound recordings, attentive walking, and deep listening. The research has been framed by questions of what it means to care for complex places subject to slow violence.