Inspired by the AND Festival artist residency opportunity, five of us went on a walk along Rochdale Canal last week. Starting out at Piccadilly Basin we walked along the canal for just over 3 hours stopping off for a picnic en route before getting the bus back to Piccadilly.
We mapped out the route beforehand and documented people, botanicals & buildings using video, photography and also recorded the route on a cycling GPS tracker. We considered how we could explore the life friendliness of the canal and how it might have a restorative impact on the people and immediate environment.
We wondered how we might transform and reveal its potential as an ecological 'edge' through foraging, sculpture, interactive work, archiving and film. We came up with an idea for exploring SLOW TRADE - how could the canal be considered as an ecology that is traded from one end of the canal to the other - influencing, interacting and gaining from connections with the dog walkers, cyclists, lovers, fishermen - that frequent it? The kind of thing that builds, balances and restores slowly over time.
The whole slideshow from the walk is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/squirrelnation/sets/72157629876322384/show/
