During a residency with Gallery Oldham (2021) I worked with bryological (moss) specimens collected from the local area 150 years ago. This inspired a series of meandering walking workshops focused on revisiting and recollecting mosses from my local area. Meandering is a form of walking fieldwork where participants engage in a series of “focused distractions”—activities like collecting, sampling from the environment, and microphotography—to redirect their attention and uncover alternative perspectives.
These workshops explore Manchester’s post-industrial and regenerated urban spaces. By employing macro photography and ground-level perspectives, we investigated overlooked areas and subtle aspects of the urban environment, encompassing both architectural and biological elements, as well as human and non-human interactions. Participants also collected small samples of moss to create micro-terrariums, serving as a living archive of their experiences. This workshop aimed to raise awareness of the often unnoticed elements within the urban landscape.
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
