I am really looking forward to this walk on February 23rd. Please let me know if you’re interested in joining either in London or in Kent or both.
Terminalia Festival of Psychogeography
http://terminaliafestival.org
Exploring Boundaries and Monuments.
Terminalia Festival of Psychogeography
Exploring Boundaries and Monuments.
A walk from Vauxhall Bus station on Thursday February 23rd
I was researching the Mythic Method and the essence of Modernity, which as I understand it does not mean returning to the past but giving an understanding to the present, when I was contacted about the Terminalia Festival.
Through this walk and it’s connections with Terminus the Roman God who ruled over boundaries I hope to explore these ideas further.
“ Instead of narrative method, we may now use the mythic method. It is, I seriously believe, a step toward making the modern world possible for art.”
T.S. Eliot, from Ulysses, Order, and Myth (1923)
The mythic method is also connected to Eliot’s idea for allowing the audience to participate and workout the meaning of an artist’s work.
“On 23 May 2006, following the passing by Parliament of the ‘Serious Organised Crime and Police Act’ prohibiting unauthorised demonstrations within a one kilometre radius of Parliament Square, the majority of Haw’s protest was removed. Taken literally, the edge of this exclusion zone bisects Tate Britain.”
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/mark-wallinger-state-britain
The Terminialia Festival celebrates Terminus, the Roman God who ruled over boundaries and whose statue was merely a stone or post stuck in the ground. In recognition of Terminus and the ritual of celebrating the Roman New Year which traditionally began on March 1st, the walk will focus on exploring the memorials and statues along the trajectory.
We will observe how and what we choose to commemorate and celebrate through our public spaces. Each participant in the walk will receive a hand made rope which they can make knots in to record the experience of the walk.
We will be walking at 11.00 am from Vauxhall bus station to Waterloo station via Tate Britain, the site of Mark Wallinger’s, “State Britain”in 2007.
We will then follow an exploratory walk to Trafalgar Square and on to St Paul’s , ending at Waterloo Station. This should take a couple of hours allowing for a tea or coffee break en route.
The ancient art of walking , the image above is of the Nazca Lines,in Peru. It made me think of the sometimes inexplicable shapes of monuments and borders.
Seasalter, in Kent.
The photo above was taken on a walk, on the way to Mick’s Post.
Following on from this walk, on the 25th of February, there will be a second walk in Seasalter near Whitstable, in Kent.
On this walk we will walk to “ Mick’s post” where we will tie the ropes knotted on the London walk to Mick’s post in a symbolic ritual of the celebration of Terminus. Mick’s post is a white post in Seasalter which has been erected near the sea wall to indicate the boundary for the digging of bait in the Thames Estuary.
Images from these walks will be posted on Twitter @womenwhowalknet @elspethpenfold, using #Terminalia. To find out more about my walking as research please visit my website blog:
http://www.elspeth-billie-penfold.com
If you would like to attend either of these walks please contact me: [email protected]
