What does freedom look like to a guide dog? If the hierarchy ranking people above dogs — and people without obvious disabilities above people with — vanished?

An art installation by Emilie Gossiaux attempts to answer these questions. I described her work, titled Other-Worlding, in a post a few months ago — without having seen it. Then, I was among a fortunate few able to participate in a “touch tour” on the exhibit’s closing day. Along with the tour, we got to eavesdrop on a conversation between Emilie and curator Sarah Cho.

The center of the exhibit is a 15-foot-tall white cane of the type many people with visual impairments or blindness use to navigate. Its central role in the sculpture emphasizes  the importance of a cane to Emilie’s independence.

Around this cane, turned into a whimsical maypole, dance three human-sized dog sculptures — each a vision of a liberated London, Emilie’s recently retired guide dog. One London is attentive and alert: ready to guide. One London is relaxed and blissful: London on break. The third London is playful and uninhibited. Each London, rather than being attached by the neck to a leash, instead loosely holds the handle of a brightly colored leash — the streamers on the maypole.

For Emilie, both the cane and the guide dog represent independence, a liberation of sorts from limitations imposed by her impaired vision. But the art piece goes beyond that to imagine London liberated as well, from the constraints of a society that sees dogs, and all non-humans, as “less than” humans: less valuable, less capable, less worthy.

… All while leveraging dogs’ and other non-humans’ extraordinary capabilities to do things that humans cannot.

During the tour, each participant touched various pieces of the installation, describing what we saw and felt — textures and colors, the dog’s body position and expressions. Even Guide dog Hildy got in on the action, gently sniffing a papier-mâché flower. Afterward, in her conversation with Sarah, Emilie described the importance of her use of color and texture in creating each element of the installation: Flowers and leaves, tree trunks, the dogs’ bodies with palpable texture, and a smooth material to create the dogs’ noses, paw pads, and nails. Spring colors, a bright green for leaves, peachy orange, opalescent purple, and deep red for flowers, gold, red, and purple leashes, along with a bright sun and moon, add joy and energy.

She also described her research into societies that move beyond conventional hierarchies and boundaries. The title, Other-Worlding, is from the work of feminist scholar Donna Haraway; Emilie’s ideas on the dog-human partnership draw on Beasts of Burden, by Sunaura Taylor, and Dogsbody, by Dianne Wynne Jones. Though I am not familiar with either work, I enjoyed the perspective of guide dogs as full partners to their humans and the image of a world where dogs enjoy liberation and the enlightened respect of humans who value them as they deserve.

Guiding Eyes Hildy, who had no desire to be called Hayley, Hilly, or anything else, has proven an outstanding addition to the Thinking Dog pack.

She’s taken to the neighborhoods of St. Petersburg like the pro that she is, unfazed by wind, strange birds — even very large ones blocking the sidewalk — and large palm fronds blowing around or also blocking her way. She expertly guides past construction, broken sidewalks, cars, bikes, boats, and anything else in her path. She was momentarily startled once by a dog-and-raccoon kerfuffle (don’t ask) but even took that in stride.

She’s charmed the groomer, the vet, the neighbors, the yoga class, and fellow concert-goers throughout the city. She enjoys watching yoga, perched on her own mat, with her paws delicately crossed, though she often chooses to join in, performing each pose with natural grace.

Best of all, she’s an excellent traveler. Hildy is quickly learning all of the tricks of the trade, finding Sky Clubs, identifying her suitcase on the carousel, and finding the correct restroom as needed. She’s calm on the plane. Well, except for that incident with the severe turbulence … but even then, all she wanted was a cuddle. After a long travel day with many delays, Hildy made peace with airport restrooms-for-dogs and understood the value of an opportunity to take a break.

She’s playful and silly when she’s off duty, and she shares Koala’s and Alberta’s love of the midday treat-ball break, efficiently bringing the ball to be filled, emptying it, then putting it away. (Maybe she’ll teach Orly and Dotty??)

Good girl!

Artist Emilie Gossiaux’s recent fellowship at the Queens Museum resulted in an art installation centered on her guide dog, London. Three Londons, in fact, dancing around a maypole. The maypole is actually a 15-foot-tall white cane, a symbol of how she regained freedom following an accident that caused her to lose her eyesight.

Her artwork since then has often focused on London, her 13-year-old Labrador guide — and more broadly, on removing barriers between animals and humans and celebrating their partnership and mutual dependency.

The Queens Museum exhibit, while Gossiaux’s first solo museum exhibit, is not London’s first starring role in her art. Gossiaux told the New York Times that her work featuring London has been influenced by the writer and scholar Donna Haraway, who examined relationships between humans and non-humans in multiple works, including The Companion Species Manifesto.

In addition to the human-adult-sized dancing Londons, Gossiaux has created other sculptures and drawings focusing on other aspects of her life with London and of other interspecies relationships.

Other Worlding is on exhibit at the Queens Museum until April 7, 2024. If you’re lucky enough to be in New York before then — and can arrange to visit the museum — let me know what you thought!

The Thinking Dog family has welcomed a new member, Guiding Eyes Hildy. Or Hil, Hilly, Hillary … or maybe Hayley. Miss H is Deni’s new guide dog from Guiding Eyes for the Blind, and she arrived at the end of November!

Whatever Deni ends up calling her, she’s off to a very promising start.

Hildy is a creative problem-solver and a bubbly and affectionate pup, wrapped in a compact black Lab body. She’s been with Deni for just over a week as I write this and has already explored some of St. Petersburg’s best restaurants, shops, and parks, as well as visiting the airport, the vet, and, of course, the dog beach.

Hildy shares many characteristics with Alberta, Deni’s first Guiding Eyes dog: Her sense of humor; her willingness to try new things; her silly, licky, wriggly love for physical contact; and a penchant for sitting with her hands crossed during rare moments of calm.

That may be because they are closely related: Hildy’s grandma is Alberta’s half-sister!

Hildy loves toys; a favorite is a squeaky koala. She likes to be challenged and is already a bit bored with the morning walk along the waterfront. She was delighted with the dog beach, unsurprisingly. After an moment of hesitation, she entered the water cautiously — and within a minute, was racing up and down the surf, swimming, and splashing.

I hope that Deni and Hil…ly enjoy many years of working and playing together!

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