Porto Santo, July 2022, Auto-ethnographic Description of the process that led to the Fabulation

Figure 1: Photo of the Porto Santo Fishmarket Street

Inspiration (Figure 1) and choosing a point of view (Figure 2) lead to noticing, indexing (Figures 2 and 3), fabulation (Figure 3), and turning the fabulation into affirmative and positive worlding (Figure 4).

The process started with inspiration from the sea's beautiful scorch that once connected the village with the (old) fish market. From the old town's main street, looking out to the old fish market and the sea, the sea is framed in between houses and seems to rise high, like trapped in between their walls, like an aquarium. Boats float on top, while fish and marine species inhabit the waters. The intense blue contrasts with the back of the cobblestones. The yellow of the houses on the right contrasts with the blue of the sea.

On the street's right, the town's old fish market used to be. First abandoned, then transferred to the other side of the road, rotating 180 degrees, facing the city. It is possible to see it, standing at the corner of the road that meanders into the old town.

One researcher starts to sketch this beautiful view, framed by the yellow walls contrasting with the turquoise waters, shining under the summer sun. Through the sketching, we noticed how the black cobblestones of the street started to be covered in algae and moss, almost eroded or claimed by the sea.

Figure 2: Fabulation old Fishmarket 1

From there, the noticing and the fabulation came quite close to each other. We imagined the moss continuing to grow in the city. What would this new live marine moss allow? Would marine species start to venture into town? Would they be curious? scared? welcomed? exploited and transformed into food? Would humans be hostile to another incoming species once again?

Figure 3: Fabulation old Fishmarket and Noticing 2

The fabulation continued after the noticing, influenced by and connected to the previous fabulation about fluorescent algae, one where marine species came to visit humans. The new fish market stands at the beginning of the road that leads into the old town.

Figure 4: Fabulation new FishMarket 2