accentuate: select the context This fascination led me to explore a different technique that did the opposite of selective omission, which removed textural context and what geometry defines a path. I made a more tactile record, focusing on the surfaces of the trails, and found that one may overcome the need for visual cues and instead follow the path from touch alone – scenery or destination hardly matters compared to the sensation of walking and the feeling of the ground beneath. Organic routes awaken the sense of touch; we become aware of where we step, how we step, and what we step over. We begin to feel more present. The constant variations allow us to appreciate the ground truthfully. A lack of textural variation makes the walking experience less personal and intimate:
It's a shame that natural paths aren't frequently considered throughout the planning phase of parks. To find these, we must go out of our way and visit still-untouched sites or organise a trip to the woods, where the requirement to plan an event takes away any genuine spontaneity. Synthetic walkways are designed to be trusted and so are unnoticed in the process of walking. Our sense of touch is diminished, the environment is sterile, we start to dissociate from nature as the experience becomes artificial. The bleakness of so many modern urban parks suppresses so many of the sensations that make us human. This pushes a human disconnect from wildlife, expelling them from their natural habitats and keeping them from thriving in newly designed ones.
Hard, then softer. Wet. A crawling bug? Squished again. Poking root! Paw prints.
The pavement.. It is just hard, then still hard, and hard once again.
Similarly to selective omission, an inverted method was used to study the segments. The frottage method captures the ground's texture, first with stiff graphite, followed by softer, warmer-toned chalk, picking up the most prominent elevations. Following the flat representation on paper, clay impressions were taken to preserve the three- dimensionality of the different surfaces. This 'roughness' analysis sheds light on potential preferences among path visitors. Solid and uniform surfaces attracted older residents and children, as well as turtles and larger fowl. Young adults, dog walkers, larger mammals, and rodents, however, preferred the more irregular surfaces.
Yana Kigel
23
on site review 42: atlas :: being in place
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