Rogue Artist Studios, Manchester, UK
December 2023 - January 2024
Spark is a group of North-West UK artists who want to intervene in the trajectory towards climate change.
As part of the exhibition and accompanying programme convened in winter 23/24, I hosted an art walk to consider artistic labour in ecological activism. Offering a space for rest and resistance.
Together we walked from Rogue Artist Studios to the neighbouring Debdale Park, exploring our environment via a series of creative Shinrin Yoku activities.
We moved slowly, listened thoughtfully, observed carefully and spent time in the company of our more-than-human friends.
Finally, we enjoyed the old English tradition of Wassail, thanking our companions with a small drop of tea. (Made with foraged nettles and blackberry leaves from the Bollin Bank ancient woodland during The Future Of Listening project).
“Trees invite us to stand still a while, to soak up their company and share a little of their embedded wisdom and intelligence. By observing their flowers and fruit, the way they grow, their habits and habitat preferences, we absorb and internalise their core characteristics. We also experience them at a subtle, emotional or vibrational level and where our observations and subliminal experiences meet, a personality emerges. This becomes our guide to a deeper understanding of the trees and what they have to teach us.”
Glenie Kindred, Walking With Trees.
The gathering was an opportunity to connect with more-than-human species on a deeper level, a chance for pause, restoration and reciprocity in our ongoing work.
Thanks to Artist, Jenny Steele for the invitation & curators John Paul Brown and Sophy King.