So,
first things first...
Just
to be clear.
This
is not the 'work'
This
is the PREAMBLE
This
is the bit
Before
the making begins.
Where
the rules get set
Where
the rules are written
Where
'Rambles with Nature' is laid out like a map.
Rambles
with Nature
That
is the 'work'.
A
body of work.
A
body of walks.
A
body of thoughts.
A
body of talks...
And
at the heart of them all the hedgerow.
No.
Not
the heart.
More
the spine.
That
bit
of the body from
which everything hangs.
A
place to set out from.
A
place to disappear into.
Or
a connecting line, simply to follow.
literally,
metaphorically, ecologically.
The
hedgerow.
In-between.
On
the edge.
In
the middle.
At
the border.
Rooted
and breathing.
Changing
with the seasons.
An
outdoor place.
A
habitat.
Full
of species, plants, animals, roots.
Hybrids,
lineages, power-struggles.
Fashioned
by hand.
A
woodland relic.
An
ancient pathway grown wayward and wild.
Teaming
with myths.
Teaming
with histories
Barrier.
Screen.
Symbol
Of
Britain.
Of
the Enclosure Acts.
Of
an impossible to remember Common land.
A
tangly mass of boundaries.
Not
always pretty. Sometimes selfish.
This
bit is mine. And this and this.
Dusty
with petrol,
Full
of rubbish and stuff.
Cigarette
butts, cans, condoms, wrappers.
Sometimes
suburban. Fairly mundane.
A
bit like Ba's privet hedge outside her council house.
I
miss that hedge.
I
used to surprise my brother by pushing him into it
And
take clippings of it for stick insects to school in a bag...
Green,
solid, constant and green
I
miss that hedge.
This
piece of writing will go in The Book.
The
book that I will make about The Body of Work.
Inside
it I imagine will be pictures like this -
But
(just to be clear), I can't draw so I will invite people who can to
Ramble with me.
Illustrators,
Amateurs, Photographers, Artists.
Foragers,
Scientists, ecologists and others...
All
weaving together a thorny thicket of stuff.
Making
the book.
Making performance
Making installations
Making plans.
So
far
Ramble
#1 will be in Cambridge and involve screens, videos.
Ramble
#2 will be in Shoreham using stories and sound.
Ramble
#3 will be in London a series of conversations about site
Ramble
#4 will be hands on and all 'doing'.
Ramble#5
might involve dreams and sewing.
Ramble
#6 might involve glass.
Ramble
#7 might involve writing a really long, unwinding bit of text and
performing it, in front of people looking.
And
Ramble #8 who knows...
It's
going to take some time to get through it all...
It's
going to take some chance meetings.
But
thats OK
That's
right on track.
To
Ramble
To
move about aimlessly.
Walk
about casually or for pleasure.
Follow
an irregularly winding course of motion or growth.
Speak
or write at length and with many digressions.
Which
reminds me...
On
Tuesday I lay down under a soft red blanket and thought about
getting old. I remembered burning sticks and dried banana skins
behind the estate, and an old white Datsun rolling softly down a
driveway. And Matthew's face - the boy who always stuck rocks up his
nose and looked at me blankly when I said hello. I wonder where he is
now?
On
Wednesday I used my legs and went on a hunt around Clapham. I wanted to
buy some of those small model sized hedges that railway enthusiasts
use and to take photos and cuttings of the surrounding greenery, but
the shop had GONE. The books I wanted weren't there. And the hedges
I saw well they were really quite something, but I didn't quite dare
take cuttings because they all seemed so neat and the photos weren't
right, too flat or something – so instead I trailed my hands along
and inside them and came back to my room for a cup of tea.
On
Thursday I read about Rousseau and Wordsworth and was reminded of the
Situationists,
of their ideas around drift and
psychogeography and wondered - What am I up to? What are the specifics?
So I wrote some
rules.
Here
they are so far:
- A
ramble must begin with / follow / explore the hedgerow. This can be
quite tenuous a connection.
-
A
ramble doesn't have to involve walking.
- A
ramble might not always be interesting. It has the right to refuse.
It is after all a ramble.
- A
ramble feels like it might be a scared thing, easily frightened away
like a deer or water vole or bird. Give it space. Give it time.
- Some
rambles can happen in darkened rooms.
- A
ramble doesn't have to be undertaken alone. In fact preferably not.
- Some
rambles can happen in bright sunlight or drizzle or fog.
- There
is a difference between a ramble and a wander. Its hard to say what
this is exactly, but it's something to do with robustness and vigour.
- A
ramble is a resistance to getting and spending, but that doesn't mean
getting and spending aren't allowed. We might need food, props, a dog
or a car.
- At
the end of each Ramble I / we will make something together. This
might be the Ramble itself. This might be something different
- At
the beginning of each Ramble I should make this clear – I am an
artist. I do make art. Don't be surprised if our Ramble transforms,
shapeshifts, becomes something solid, turns into a video, or a
blanket or a song. Or does none of these things. Or perhaps this is
it.
- Anyone
involved should be credited.
These
rules need more work.
Another
thing I thought of was that I'd make some small cards.
To
give out.
As a start.
As a way to find conversations.
They
might say:
Sheila
Ghelani
Open
for Rambles with Nature
starting
with / exploring / The Hedgerow
I
am an artist.
We
don't have to walk.
Although
walking is ok and can be a good place to start...
---------------------
This text is part of the Preamble I wrote at BAC for their Scratch
Festival in May. Preamble was my first chance to start thinking about
Rambles with Nature.
