Walk On: Forty Years of Art Walking

From Richard Long To Janet Cardif

This exhibition was curated by myself in collaboration with Cynthia Morrison-Bell (Art Circuit Touring Exhibitions) and Alistair Robinson (Curator, NGCA) assisted by my colleague, Janet Ross. I also had work in this exhibition – see below – and wrote an essay for the catalogue. For me, this was the culmination of three years research as a writer (developing from research for my PhD), an artist and a curator.

Walk On previewed in London at PM Gallery (see information on the right hand side of this page). The exhibition was curated by myself in collaboration with Art Circuit Touring Exhibitions (Cynthia Morrison-Bell) and Alistair Robinson, Curator, NGCA assisted by Janet Ross, and supported by ACE and LEADER+. I also have work in this exhibition – see below – and wrote an essay for the catalogue. For me, this is the culmination of three years research as a writer (developing from research for my PhD), an artist and a curator. The complete ‘version’ of this exhibition opened at the NGCA on 1st June 2013.

Artists :

Richard Long, Hamish Fulton, Alec Finlay, Marina Abramovic, Chris Drury, Mike Collier, Brian Thompson, Tim Brennan, Tim Robinson, Julian Opie, Vito Acconci, Bruce Nauman, Melanie Manchot, Richard Wentworth, Francis Alÿs, Janet Cardiff, Atul Bhalla, Simon Pope, Sophie Calle, plan b, Wrights & Sites, Dan Holdsworth, Rachel Reupke. Joe Bateman, Brendan Stuart Burns, Rachael Clewlow, Sarah Cullen, Bradley Davies, Tracy Hannah, James Hugonin, Tim Knowles, Pat Naldi & Wendy Kirkup, Ingrid Pollard, Bryndis Snæbjõrnsdóttir & Mark Wilson, walkwalkwalk, Jeremy Wood, Catherine Yass, Carey Young

Including photography, film, and installation works, this exhibition brings together a diverse group of artists inspired by their travels on foot. From land art and conceptual art to street photography and the essay film, across the last four decades many artists have acted as explorers whether making their mark on the rural wilderness, documenting small journeys, or undertaking close examination of the urban environment around them.

Artists such as Richard Long have crossed countries and continents to create their works, leaving traces of their movement on the land itself. Others exhibit photography, texts or artefacts as documentation of their journeys. For artists such as Hamish Fulton, the walk itself is the work and anything else only evidence. For others such as Marina Abramovic, it is a form of performance over time, as seen in her epic journey across the length of the Great Wall of China, a symbolic act of separating and then reuniting with her then collaborator Ulay.

Tracing and mapping is a recurring theme throughout the exhibition: from Chris Drury’s weaving of maps of his walks in the mountainous region of Ladak, India to plan b and Rachael Clewlow who inventively mark their steps with GPS devices, creating systems to record daily walks and so immortalising everyday routines. In his Windwalks, Tim Knowles strolls about London, his route determined by the ways in which the wind whips through the streets.

Whether serendipitous or by design, the walks undertaken have formed the starting point for many important artworks of the past 40 years. Previewing at PM Gallery & House, ‘Walk On’ begins the first leg of a major tour with, ‘Walk On: from Richard Long to Janet Cardiff 40 Years of Art Walking’ opening in June 2013 at NGCA Sunderland, as part of the Festival of the North East.

Touring Venues:

PMG, London:                        26 March – 6 May 2013
NGCA Sunderland:              01 June – 5August 2013
mac birmingham                   08 February – 31 March 2014
Atkinson Art Gallery: 12 April – 9 August 2014
Plymouth City Art Gallery:      19 September – 12 December 2014

WALK ON PRESS COVERAGE

National/Regional Press

The Guardian Guide 30 March – 5 April 2013
Time Out – 25 March 2013
Time Out – 8 April 2013
The Guardian Guide – Saturday 1 June 2013 – Friday 7 June 2013
The Times – Saturday review – Saturday June 1 2013
The Guardian Guide – Saturday 15 June 2013 – Friday 21 June 2013

Online Interviews
BBC News Entertainment & Arts
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22025531
Interview at BBC Radio London 94.9 – 11 March 2013 (listen 1hr35 mins in)
http://goo.gl/Ohfvq

Selected Web
http://onestoparts.com/review-walk-on-40-years-art-walking-pm-gallery-house

http://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/exhibitions/walk-40-years-art-walking-136761

http://www.illustratedbrum.co.uk/post/76148820034/walk-on-first-floor-ga…
http://stillwalkingblog.com/?s=walk+on