REPETITION AS RITUAL FOR RECOVERY

With the end of lockdown approaching, I decided to have a rethink of what I planned to make after the walks and I think the results may lead to multiple works from each journey. 

I was particularly interested in a Dazed article from January 2019 about 'invisible artworks'.

In 1985, Warhol produced and installed “Invisible Sculpture” at famed nightclub Area in downtown New York City. The concept of which was to show that the absence of something could be art. This performance piece saw him stand on a plinth briefly, leaving with it a small wall reading and a declaration that his aura would remain with the pedestal.

This description of Invisible Sculpture worded out an idea I'd had about presenting an object like a pillow or item of clothing that had been essential to the walk that had absorbed all the energy and experiences I had.

Not to get too depresso but I've self harmed since I was 13 and sometimes try to replace it with tattooing myself as the slow but painful process clearly has it's similarities. I've done tallies and series of dots to count various things in the past and random collections of words and initials so the first walk might be a combination of the two? I could count every mile or every hour with initials of the people I meet at the appropriate places and the result would be some kind of map of my journey. Stopping the walk at regular intervals will also dramatically change my experience.

I have also considered making a map whilst walking by somehow attaching a surface and implement to my body/bag that would draw itself as I moved. Reminiscent of  Francis Alÿs's 2005 performance The Green Line. 

Alÿs carried a can filled with green paint. The bottom of the can was perforated with a small hole, so the paint dripped out as a continuous squiggly line on the ground as he walked. The route he followed was one drawn in green on a map as part of the armistice after the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, indicating land under the control of the new state of Israel. Alÿs restricted his walking to a 15-mile stretch through a divided Jerusalem, a hike that took him down streets, through yards and parks, and over rocky abandoned terrain. Julien Deveaux documented the walk alongside Alÿs.

For the second festival themed walk I have decided that instead of bringing an instrument, I will instead make one from the litter I find on the route. This could end up being a complex string or wind instrument but the likelihood is that the resulting creation will be some kind of rattle or wind chime. I'm also still really intrigued by the use of urine in art but I still don't think this is the time for it as carrying all that extra liquid would be a whole other task.

For the third walk to wherever I move to, I am toying with the possibility of carrying a bedsheet with the concept that I'll be carrying 'everything' I really need to own. As the walk will likely take over 24 hours I could again use the every hour or every mile routine to take self timer photos of me engulfed in the sheet. This would result in a series of photos that continue my masked face theme and would leave me with a dirty white sheet referring to the above Warhol and obvious link to Emin's My Bed which also dealt with trauma/isolation/repeated habits.