The Walking Like a Tortoise exhibition was on Friday 29 September to 1 October 2023 at Madelvic House, the Granton Hub, Granton Park Avenue, Edinburgh EH5 1HS with a Community walk around part of the Granton boundary on Friday 29th 4-5.45pm and an Opening Event afterwards. Then it was open on Saturday 30th September and and Sunday 1st October.
There is a walk-through video here on Vimeo
'Walking like a Tortoise' is a mixed media art exhibition based on a series of Granton walks. Using maps of the area from 1828 to the present day, I’ve been walking the different boundaries of Granton, and wondering about the act of slow walking, how it can develop a sense of belonging somewhere. By writing, taking photographs, and making textile work, I’ve discovered that mindful noticing of my immediate area has helped me appreciate and connect with the place where I live.
“Lovely to reflect on the area we live in with the different textures of the landscape, plants, people and buildings.”
Discover the story of Betty and her tortoise which inspired the title of my exhibition!
While walking, I have seen the alterations people and the climate have wrought here. Although places transform all the time, the built-up environment and natural spaces near my home have recently been changing rapidly; there are areas I can’t walk any more (or I’m not supposed to!) streets and stations that have been given new names, and views which have disappeared. On the other hand, slowly wandering the urban and coastal landscapes of the Granton boundary has offered me the chance to meet my neighbours, understand the area's local history and heritage better, and feel more connected.
The images above are of Ania, Nathan and Woytek in front of photos taken on the boundary of Granton; Lucy chose ‘The Wall’ (an interior version of the site-specific sound walk); and Avril and Ian McHaffie are reading the story which Ania and Nathan made up using two of the objects from the Cabinet of Curiosities (see below); Interactive map on which visitors to the exhibition placed themselves.
‘Where do I Belong?’ In my body, in Granton where I live, or in Kent where I was born, brought up and where my mother is?
This exhibition prompted a discussion about collective memory making through walking and looking. It asked: Do you walk the boundary of your area? If you live in Granton, where do you think the boundary is? Is it important to you that things stay the same or do you welcome the changes which are happening where you live? Do you feel part of the decision-making processes which are precipitating those changes? Is belonging somewhere important to your sense of who you are?
Left: Preparing ‘The Wall’ for the Exhibition; Right: Cabinet of Curiosities.
Links
walkingwithoutadonkey.com link to The Granton Boundary
Sound Walk Map (Edinburgh) A link to a map which shows the locations of my three site-specific sound walks: The Wall, No Birds Land and Is There a Place for REVOLution or Peace and Biscuits