THE GOATMAN gave a captivating account of his transformation
into a goat for a scientific study on stage in Edinburgh last night.
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| Thomas Thwaites on an Alpine meadow. Photo credit: Tim Bowditch. |
Thomas Thwaites’ talk entitled ‘GoatMan: How I Took a
Holiday from Being Human’ was showcased as part of this year’s Edinburgh
International Science Festival.
A large audience at the Summerhall’s main room enjoyed
hearing about the 2016 Nobel Prize Winner’s experience of joining life as
another species.
The London designer – who came wearing a white sweater dotted
with different coloured sharks, big wavy hair and an effortless smile - amused
guests for an hour as he described the journey he went on to make his initial
idea become a reality.
Using a projector screen he added detail to his stories about the
people who helped him prepare to leave humankind and set off across the Alps
with a herd of goats.
“This dream of becoming an animal is as old as humanity
itself,” said Thomas. He shows some paintings of bison- and bird-headed men
found in European caves that are more than 30,000 years old; similarly ancient
cave paintings that were identified in Indonesia.
The 37-year-old also shows a video of a horse galloping
through a large puddle, and notes what fun that must be, as everyone giggles at
the likeable character who has appeared on stage and his unconventional style.
During an honest reflection about where the notion originated
he said he was unsure about the direction and purpose of his life. He was dog-sitting
for a friend and looked at the dog thinking: “everything is okay for you; you
don’t have to worry about anything whatsoever.”
This led him to ask the Wellcome Trust for funding to
conduct a research project into life as another species.
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| Thomas Thwaites and a friend in the Alps. Photo credit: Tim Bowditch. |
They accepted, so he began to take
steps to execute this bizarre mission. In jest he said that a head at the trust
wishes he would not mention them in his talks, because whenever he does they
get complaints for backing the study.
In his funding application he specified that he would become
an elephant and liked the idea of spraying himself clean with water, but later
discovered that this initial animal of choice would not be possible.
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| Thomas receives trans-cranial magnetic stimulation to in an attempt to think like a goat. Photo credit Sioban Imms. |
An animal behaviourist explained he would be best to select
an animal that exists where he is from. Considering deer and foxes the expert
felt that they were “too wild” for Thomas, and he describes that his “heart
sank” at the thought of becoming a sheep.
After settling on becoming a goat he began work on building
a goat exoskeleton to fit in on all fours with the herd. It included designing
artificial legs, a helmet, chest protector, and a prosthetic goat stomach to digest
grass, and was complete with a raincoat from his mum.
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| An early attempt at a goat costume. Photo credit: Tim Bowditch. |
He runs through interesting advice he received on meetings
with a Danish shaman, neuroscientists, and a prosthetist during research to
get his mind and body ready to connect with the goats.
“Animals are very in the moment. They don’t have an idea of
the future or the past as a narrative that they tell themselves,” said Thomas.
As an animal he clarifies that he had to engage with his
less self-conscious side, and try to be present in his physical body and in
nature. Semi-joking he alludes to whether joining goats for therapy related holiday
tours may be a thing of the future.
A Swiss goat herder agreed that he could join his herd, and this is where his exhausting three day adventure on the Alps to bridge the
boundary between humans and animals took place.
He struggled to live off of only grass, whilst sweat made
him cold and uncomfortable. He had hoped to be able to gallop freely along with
the goats but his prosthetics started rubbing and making him tired, and this interfered
with his attempts to think like a goat.
During a question from the audience at the end as to whether
he was able to form a relationship with the goats he said: “I think that I did
make a friend with one of the goats.” He speaks about one particular goat that
caught-up with him on various parts of the trek.
The herder also felt that he had been accepted as one of the
other goats, and before the Englishman returned home he was issued with one of
the goat bells that each one wears around their neck.
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| Thomas Thwaites being human. |
Another question was what it taught him, and he explained
that he missed being human. On whether he would do it again, he would need to
invest in a more comfortable suit, and said if he does “it will be just for me.”
He would like to go without the obligation to document the project through
cameras which inhibited a more meditative attempt to become a goat.
Asked if he has any “more mad projects” in the pipeline, he
says that he and his partner are having a baby. This receives a loud cheer from
the audience which he appeared pleasantly surprised by.
He added that he hadn’t considered his research to be “mad”.
After all as he previously outlined in the talk - humans for centuries have
been curious to understand other species and our bonds. What could be a truer
way of doing so than by becoming, and co-existing with, one?
This amusing clip was played at the end of the show, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJwZMUn7GdQ.
Thomas finished by speaking to guests and signing copies of his book, GoatMan:
How I Took a Holiday from Being Human.
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