tender walks

Searching for tenderness in public spaces. 

#1 Fontaínhas 


#2 Campanhã


#3 Bolhão


#4 Marques



 



 



 



 

#1 Fontaínhas

29.01.2023

#2 Train Station Campanhã

02.02.2023

#3 “Local“ Market Bolhão

11.02.2023

#4 Praça do Marquês

15.03.2023

#3

#4

#1 

Observations:

  • Tenderness sold as a capitalist product for tourists 
  • or as an touristic experience 
  • special quality of interactions (open gestures, mimics, smiles, converstaion, being availabe) serving the benefits of the sellers.. is it still in-tender-action? 
  • what would be the differnce to a less touristic market?
  • flower tiles found on my way back home <3 who did them? for which purpose? here: serving the common good, radical tenderness! 

 

#2 

Observations:

  • People sitting back to back in the park, balancing each other. How much trust is need for tenderness? Can tenderness be a foundation for trust?
  • Cats appropriating the warm car roofs, tenderly stretching in the sun
  • Unknwon people greeting me. Excercising greeting. 
  • Old people holding hands, why is it so rare to see elderly people being tender? 
  • People gathering, in order to learn/teach/dance slasa together. 

 

Observations:

  • observing tenderness as a state of being, slow walking, attentive, seeing at the world with eyes that really want to see it
  • questioing playfulness in tenderness: how can a playfull approach to tenderness look like? isn't it alsways playful, to interact with each other, exploring what feels good and what doesnt? children playing in the backyard of their scholl, old men playing “sueca“ (card game) in the park. playing with each otehr for the benefit of spending time togetehr and having fun together... 
  • women reading/discussing the bible: reminded me on how my parents used to read books for me (reading out loud for someone is a tender action!) 
  • intentionality of gestures: what turns a moevemnt/a gesture/ a look tender? what differs a gesture form a tender gesture? intention of the gesture, of the gaze. towards who is the intention directed to? is it an honest intention? (do we really want to do it or do we feel that we are “supposed“ to do so?

 

Observations:

  • Tenderness: holding hands (couple), sharing headphones
  • smartphone or cigarette or both
  • 2 - 3 meter distance in between the people 
  • nobodys looking up, everbody seem to be somehwere else..
  • reference: Edward Hall studies of "Proxemics" - how we unconsciously structure microspaces 
  • social behaviour at the train station, thursday noon: no interaction, no tenderness
  • provocating the social distance feels weird, invading the interpersonal space 

 

 

Research Question:
How is tenderness performed in the public space?

 

Method: “Drifting“ - Debord / “TenderWalks“

Insights: 

Void of public tenderness

Translation: private to public tenderness

—> questioning borders of our bodies & skins
—> oversteps the individual realm
—> benefits the common 
—> practice the common (time & space)

--> State of being: the tender body