I was one of a series of resident artists at Cel Del Nord, a creative space in northern Catalonia, Spain. My project revolved around embodied walking, something I had become increasingly drawn to during the pandemic. I was interested in how walking can offer autonomy and meditation, and was eager to move this exploration from my urban home to a more remote, natural environment.

 

For two weeks, I walked for around six hours every morning, mapping the local hillsides and villages surrounding Oristà. I spent a lot of time with myself, often thinking about nothing in particular - or being so absorbed by a strenuous slope that there was no room for thought. Afterwards, I would 're-walk' my routes through writing, and then process the experience through automatic and blind drawings. Over time, forms and colours collected from these wanderings appeared in the pieces, merging with the abstract and emotional. I realised walking, like drawing, is just another way of thinking and making sense of the world.

 

Through this ritual of roaming, noticing, thinking and mark-making, I delved into the emotional nature of walking, and how physicality can move the subconscious.

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My interview discussing the residency can also be found here​ on the Cel Del Nord site.

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June 2022