Likening our relationship to joining for ‘a game of chess’ in reflecting on our experience in Handshake2 Harrell says;

‘It has that kind of same mental stimulation for me. But here it is a particular kind of game that I happen to just have been involved with for a long time; a kind of strange obscure one but its an interesting one to play. Its not like we have been playing in any sort of competitive way but its an interesting process of you serving me some stuff and I get to respond to it and you get to respond back and we have this game back and forth. This back and forth becomes a volleying development of an idea and thinking of conceptual aspects as well as the real aspects like what’s going to happen with it and how does that manifest. Its been a fun and satisfying experience.’

Back for another game in Handshake3, this time the game takes on a different focus: collaboration.

I respond:

‘Instead of the chess pieces on both sides forming ‘my’ work; where I choose the direction the plays continued/developed, and I resolve where the game ends; this time the game forms ‘our’ work; this time the game sees Harrell’s starts, his big moves and the work carries much more strongly his own interests as much as mine, a kind of sharing of interests… its been a fun process to watch this game unfold.

And different still, after kicking it off we got other players involved. A few we knew and had a feeling how they might play but most we had never meet – how they might contribute was unknown. Towards the end Harrell and I almost completely stepped out of the game, it was the participants who finished it; they each offering a final arrangement of pieces on the board.’