Walking Libraries | Artifacts
[ From Walking Libraries, an archive in progress | © Abigail Doan studio ]
This evolving materials library explores the language of site-specific phenomena in conjunction with geological and spatial narratives. Objects and handmade tools are used to prompt further crafting initiatives related to the environment and atmospheric conditions.
Initiated in 2016 as a movement arts project with a social practice component, Walking Libraries has expanded into a visual lab archive that addresses the nature of plots and terrain in this era of climate breakdown/crisis.
“Walking as an art form is not at all my creation. Artists, writers and travelers throughout the ages have adopted this practice as means to explore and record regional and cultural narratives. Walking is often viewed as an act of resistance, at least in terms of the individual feeling empowered to shed societal expectations, identify tendencies to subjugate nature and assess the status quo.
The integration of walking into my own daily routine was an attempt to move beyond the studio in order to observe events more directly, and to preserve these findings for myself and hopefully others. Walking has always been a form of mapping for me. Picking up where my previous projects on psychogeography and the use of fiber on the land or in urban spaces left off, my walking practice has become a way for me to thread together disparate ideas and navigate shifting terrain.”
— from an interview for Mowoon
More to come on Walking Libraries for Romanian Creative Week 2022
