In these urban ‘micro-navigation’ workshops we used walking as a research tool (strollology) to explore Manchester’s post-industrial and regenerated urban spaces. We used macro photography and ground-level perspectives to explore in-between peripheral areas and invisible or unnoticed aspects of the urban environment, both architectural and biological, human and non-human. We also collected small samples of moss to make micro-terrariums as a record or living archive of the experience. This workshop employed ‘radical urban bryology’ as a subversive tactic to explore issues of eco-psychology (or ecological perception). This workshop was developed through a residency with Gallery Oldham [2021] and an encounter with Glassball Studios and Alison Lloyd (check out this post for more information on her idea of micro-navigation).

Images from workshops for photography students at the Scool of Digital Arts [SODA] Febuary 2022