10 - 10 - 10 Edgelands:
(2024)
author(s): O'Brien & O'Brien
published in: Research Catalogue
Operating at the intersection of fine art walking practice, psychogeography, critical animal studies and ecology, the practice of Deep Canine Topography seeks to reframe the humble act of the ‘walkies’ as a co-authored act of ‘making’ or ‘performing’ together.
As part of the practice based element of my PhD thesis, Deep Canine Topography, 10 - 10 - 10 Edge-lands, is a further investigation of the methodologies of Deep Canine Topography (O'Brien & O'Brien 2018). This series operates as a visual and sonic essay for each walk and explores memory, deep topographical imprints, and entropy between wild and post-industrial spaces and sub-urban sprawl, on the edge of the city of Leicester and the county of Leicestershire. During the 2020 Covid 19 pandemic lockdown, as part of permitted exercise, we undertook 10 Walks, of up to 10 miles, within a 10 mile circle of our home, just outside of the city centre. Covid 19 restrictions, remained in place in Leicester longer than in any other UK city or region.
Each title will take you to a different walk.
Click return to return to the title page.
Click Base Map to open a GoogleMap of the walk locations and GPS tracklogs (in a new window).
Clicking on the round MAP circle, on the title page, will take you to the central exposition of my PhD: Deep Canine Topography.
Surface Tension: Material Intra-Actions within Photography
(2018)
author(s): Jane Vuorinen, Rebecca Najdowski
published in: RUUKKU - Studies in Artistic Research
How does photography materially intra-act with other material phenomena and how do these interruptions, entanglements or comings-together reveal new qualities of photographic materiality itself? In this exposition, we use the concept of intra-action to think through and problematize photographic practices by looking at two cases: ‘photo-embroideries’ and ‘landscape photography’. Through these perspectives we propose a new materialist approach to thinking about photography, one that considers and appreciates photographic materiality.
Further Adventures in Deep Canine Topography: Experiments in canine Soundscapes: Attending to Rhythm and Repetition.
(last edited: 2024)
author(s): O'Brien and O'Brien
This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
Operating at the intersection of fine art walking practice, psychogeography, critical animal studies and ecology, the practice of Deep Canine Topography seeks to reframe the humble act of the ‘walkies’ as a co-authored act of ‘making’ or ‘performing’ together.
As part of the practice based element of my PhD thesis, Deep Canine Topography, this practice based investigation of the performance of human-canine hybrid aesthetic walking practices, focuses on the rhythm and repetition of the urban walkies through Henri Lefebvre's Rhythmanalysis. Using sound, photography and GPS to document the daily repetitive morning walk, in urban Leicester, this presentation explores two such walks, one taken in January 2020, the other in March 2020, during the Covid 19 lockdown period. Both walks follow the same circular route. Both attend to the rhythms of the human-canine bodies, traffic, human conversation and canine olfactory signs and signifiers, exploring harmony and disharmony between the linear rhythms of production and more messy rhythms of nature. Binaural microphones are positioned close to the canine body to capture a soundscape from the canine perspective. Duration of both walks is around 13 minutes. Headphones are advised for a full spatial experience.
The sound will autorun on opening the exposition.
PLEASE WEAR HEADPHONES:
First presented at the Midlands 4 Cities, ARHC, Research Festival: July 13th_14th 2020:
Clicking on the round MAP circle will take you to the central exposition of my PhD: Deep Canine Topography.
Why Look at Humans?
(last edited: 2023)
author(s): Darren O'Brien
This exposition is in progress and its share status is: visible to all.
Operating at the intersection of fine art walking practice, psychogeography, critical animal studies and ecology, the practice of Deep Canine Topography seeks to reframe the humble act of the ‘walkies’ as a co-authored act of ‘making’ or ‘performing’ together.
As part of the practice based element of my PhD thesis, Deep Canine Topography, in this series of photographs the composition is framed by the canine body, through a chest mounted action camera, set to capture stills at intervals of 10 or 30 seconds.
The accompanying text is an adapted extract from John Berger's 1980 book Why Look at Animals, although in this version of the text the word animal and human have been swapped, thus shifting the position of the animal, looking at the human.
Clicking on the round MAP circle will take you to the central exposition of my PhD: Deep Canine Topography.