The invitation:
Head out on a walk with your canine companion. Allow your canine companion to choose the direction of travel and follow their nose (only intervene if you perceive a risk, e.g. a busy road). Privilege your sense of smell and sound, attend to the world as human-canine
Participants:
- Linda
- Ruby
- Kennie
- Missy
- Chuli
With thanks to 4WCOP for hosting this event and all who took part.
In loving memory of Chuli.
Images by kind permission of participants human companions.
*****
Method:
In September 2020, at the hight of the covid 19 global pandemic, I devised and delivered an online workshop at the 4th World Congress of Psychogeography.
The concept for the workshop was that human and canine participants would undertake a simulations 45 min walk, following the above prompt, and communicate through social media, followed by a group discussion.
Equipment:
- Facebook group
- Cameras, text and video
Discoveries:
Members of the workshop reported a shift in their usual walking style and routs, suggesting that their canine companions had taken them to new places, not on their regular walking routes.
Originally, I had planned to organise a number of live, in person group walks as part of my PhD research, but due to the pandemic I had to rethink my plan and this was the only opportunity to explore an alternative, online version of a group walk, albeit a dispersed one. My hope is that I can organise more social walks as part of any post PhD research activity.
You can link to the Facebook group below by requesting to join the group for more information via the link below.
There is also a link to the 2020 4th World Congress of Psychogeography program.