/ The Poetics of Walking - An Atlas of Calanques Landscape
/ Elemental Walk: Notes on Water
/ The Contour Line Drawing by Matches
Solitude in Tandem/
Shadow Walk
2024-ongoing
Forms: drawing, video installation, research archive
Supporter: Walking as Practice 24, BKN, Sweden
This project responds to the residency theme of Walking as Anticipation, exploring
how we move through space with the expectation of something unknown, unpredictable, or revealing and how the act of walking can reveal unanticipated connections between people, space, and time
In an era defined by climate change, artificial intelligence, and shifting political landscapes, _Shadow Walk_ highlights how anticipation operates as a strategy for navigating uncertain futures. By using an interdisciplinary, multi-scalar approach, the project emphasizes the importance of diverse perspectives in understanding and envisioning the world we are moving toward.
Nine artists at WAP24 participated in this work. Each walk begins from the BKN starting point, with the leading artist responding to prompts designed to encourage either a sense of isolation or connection. The shadow follows, documenting the walk while adjusting to the leader’s actions—whether they choose to stop, sit, climb, or engage with their surroundings. The dynamic nature of the landscape and the artist’s movements are captured through the use of LiDAR scanning and MapMyWalk app, transforming the experience into a digital map and immersive video installation.
Emotionally, anticipation manifested as a complex affect during the walk. As I followed each artist, I was attuned to their body language, feeling the tension of not knowing their next move and yet being tethered to their choices. This waiting, this quiet anticipation, became a kind of shared vulnerability. The walks revealed not only how anticipation shapes the experience of space but also how it influences our emotional responses to connection and isolation, intensifying feelings of belonging or solitude.
The poster for calling for artists at BKN
Solitude in Tandem/Shadow Walk (the mirror piece, 42X59.4cm)
Solitude in Tandem/Shadow Walk (the drawing piece,
750x300cm)
The three pieces out from Shadow Walk exhibition in a virtual space; On-going progress about this project can be find on https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/2468478/3002525
Sitzen
Sitting citizen in Berlin
2023
Forms: map, video installation, AR sculpture
Residency: ZK/U Berlin - Center for Art and Urbanistics
Sitzen is theoretically driven and research-led, delving into the act of ‘guerilla sitting’ and how the sitting redefined the public spaces.
By immersing myself in the environment and observing its nuances, I strive to uncover the hidden layers of meaning:
-Redefine the public space through active engagement by occupying it with seated presence.
-Replicate the essence of the space by embodying its physicality.
-Unveil the temporal, rhythmic, and dynamic dimensions of walking and pausing.
I use “Guerilla Sitting” to refer to the intentional/ unconscious act of occupying public spaces by sitting on objects or surfaces not intended for seating purposes. This practice redefines the use of public spaces and perpetuates the ongoing reclamation and sharing of these spaces in a subtle form of activism.
This project aims to spark critical dialogue and reflection on the multifaceted nature of urban siting and its impact on diverse communities, to consider the social, cultural, and political dimensions of sitting and walking in the urban environment. Through this exploration, Sitzen seeks to create new narratives and possibilities, contributing to a more dynamic understanding of public space in Berlin and beyond.
Mapping my everyday walking and the places where I witness ‘guerilla sitting’
An archive of guerilla sitting and my reflections
Three AR seats were created based on three sitted objects in my archieve and interacted with visitors for ZK/U
Openhaus July 2023
1) the noise barrier in Moabiter Stadtgarden
2) column in Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe
3) sculpture Dove Vai by Andreas Wegner
The Poetics of Walking
An Atlas of Calanques Landscape
2019
Forms: atlas, animated map, storyboard
The Poetics of Walking is a collection of atlas, animated maps and a storyboard describing unique relationships between a walker and the Calanques landscape at multiple scales. Unique spatial and temporal qualities were collected from a first-person narrative and documented through sketches and writings, reflected through scores and descriptive texts in maps.
During the walking trip in the Calanques National Park, I (the walker) chose three trails based on subconscious differentiation to draw out different walking experiences. Sections show spatial qualities, including topographic features, vegetation, and scale changes, significantly impacting the walker’s perception.
Cliffs, coastlines, and urban fringe that define the Calanques landscape overlapped in these maps. The interaction between mountains and water develops the most poignant characteristics of the place, which can be read through geological history. Walking becomes the only tool to explore and understand the complexity of topography through subjective experience.
Multiple sensory experiences were mapped at different scales, using my body to measure and read a massive landscape. I conceptualized my sense of place into two sculptural interventions, revealing contrasts between the body scale and topography within the Calanques National Park. The storyboard visualizes how they become a part of a one-day walking journey.
Atlas spread - (left) Sugiton Trails: A Personal Map (right)Tracing the Trails
Atlas pages - (left) Sensory Generators (right) New Trail Network
Inspired by the notion of the ‘field’ of the senses by French philosopher Merleau-Ponty, I developed the 1:1 bodyscaled map, Chronicles of Sensory Perception: An Animated Body-Scaled Map, to represent my experience, indicating the multidirectional dimension of sonic perception and Calanques’ tactile essence. My understanding of sensory changes is not meant to isolate one part of my body but rather to emphasise how each part of the whole dynamically understands all the others. It is highlighted by the experience of the place’s multisensory qualities and their reflection through movement, particularly the body’s posture and orientation. Instead of isolating the bodily from the place, the notion of embodied experience is considered an entirely mutual affair in this study.
This set of drawings shows my perception and spatial imagination in the landscape by representing my experience of the landscape in two different ways. The “before” drawings represent the material and tangible aspects of the place, while the “after” drawings represent a more conceptual and intangible understanding of the space. This shift in focus from material to conceptual can indicate a change in my perception and imagination of the landscape.
Animated version Chronicles of Sensory Perception: An Animated Body-Scaled Map https://youtu.be/FVGX7hsIl4s
The storyboard contextualizes After: Intangible Belvedere and After: Intangible Sugiton into one day journey, merging the sense of time derived from the body’s motion with the natural rhythm of a day by contextualising my one-day practice in the place’s temporal, emotional, and narrative layers. It can be used as a guide to explore this landscape and notice something they would not address typically.
(right) Storyboard of Journey in Calanques Landscape in Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2020 exhibition (left) Sequential Sections of the Trail Network
Elemental Walk: notes on water
2024-
Forms: walking workshop, suminagashi, tetra pak printing
Colleborator: Susie Wilson
Supporter: ESALA Climate Action
Water, a vital element intertwined with every aspect of our lives, takes on various forms in the cityscape.
“Elemental walk: notes on water” is an immersive two-day workshop in ‘Landscapes of Making’ festival, that guides the University of Edinburgh students and staff through the diverse water bodies of Edinburgh, exploring their stories and capturing their essence through art. This workshop combines guided walks, on-site marbling, and tetra pak printing to offer a unique perspective on water in Edinburgh.
By doing this, we aim to
- draw attention on the interconnectedness of all water bodies and the impact of human actions. Reflection on individual responsibili ty for preserving water resources and maintaining environmental sustainability.
- use non-toxic pigments and recycled tectra paks, along with a dis cussion on the environmental impact of art materials, encouraging mindful choices.
- enhance the awareness of the collective impact individuals can have on the environment.
“Notes on Water,” which includes a textual guide, instructions for puddle hunting, and a map of the walking route, were designed by me for the walk.
The text is related to my talk, encouraging participates to observe how water interacts with its surroundings, forming patterns and shapes.
During the puddle hunting activity, participants encounter various types of puddles, each with its own distinct characteristics. Tristan Gooley’s book “How to Read Water” offers insight into these puddle types, from those holding water from higher places to those collecting rainwater. Puddles may vary from muddy to crystal clear, influenced by their surrounding environments.
The paper is conveniently foldable, fitting palm-sized, allowing easy handling. Participants utilized it for note-taking and suminagashi.
The new piece of ‘Notes on Water’ and one after the two-day workshop
Participants explored an ancient Japanese (originally Chinese) art form called suminagashi, which translates to ‘floating ink’ to capture water flows, ripples and currents influenced by wind, sound vibrations and our own movements. Different water sources will leave distinct substances on the paper, emphasizing the unique character of each water body. The interaction between the ink on water with landscape elements - sand, soil, and rocks became an essential part of a collective creative energy.
Drawing inspiration from the sights and experiences of our on-site recording and marbled paper activities, participants got creative with recycled Tetra Paks sourced from the university cafe. They drew ‘a piece of water’. Aligning the pieces side by side, they inked and arranged them to reflect the journey of water from the river to the sea, printing a ‘Collective River.’
A Contour Line
Drawing by Matches
2024-
Forms: performance, workshop
Supporter: Walking as Practice 24, BKN, Sweden
Using a bag of unwanted matches left by a previous artist, I traced a fragile contour line across the cliff by the Baletic Sea - shaped by the wind, the uneven surface, and even ants climbing over it. As the wind blew parts of the line away, I felt a strange calmness in the imperfection and disruption. It reminded me of how lines in landscape, like in life, are always shifting, shaped by forces beyond our control. For the ants, this line became an obstacle or a path -something to navigate. This process made me think about topography, boundaries, and how landscape, both physical and emotional, contour us.
‘the contour line drawing by matches’ with everyone (human and more than human) at BKN on 7 September 2024
