My walking workshop event at the Hive stimulated some interesting responses. May 23rd was a a beautiful warm Summer evening in Shrewsbury, and after my brief introduction in the gallery to my exhibition and ways of working, we set out for a walk of about 30 minutes.
Everyone was familiar with the town, so I wanted to try and break habitual ways of observation and remove some of the filters we employ when we walk from A to B. Using input from participants I developed a simple algorithm to guide me on route to our destination. None of us knew where we would end up, so we just had to concentrate on being in the moment, taking in the overwhelming flood of sensory experience when we limit other distractions. I walked at a brisk pace which was a frustration to some who wanted to linger and study passing views in more detail. Overall though, the algorithmic walk was a fascinating experience, and most of the attendees began noticing details they might otherwise have missed. I even walked through several locations around the town centre that I had never visited before in 20 years.
We arrived at Frankwell car park between the Guildhall and River Severn. Clouds of mayflies danced in the low sunlight, a cricket match commenced in the sports field nearby, a fellow artist wandered by walking their dog, groups of kids hung about by the river – it was a relaxed atmosphere in which to gather materials to make art. Participants made sketches, tracings, rubbings, photographs and recorded experiences in text.
On our return to the Hive, and after some refreshment, we began making small collage/installations using some of the gathered materials. We worked quickly and spontaneously to work with instinctive ideas.
I was impressed with what could be created in a short space of time. It was interesting to see how our collective experiences of the place overlapped and contrasted, how unique visual maps had been generated by each person.
Some of the work we made:
No Time Like the Present 