“Walkings are a series of excavations” (Crab Man and Signpost, 2011, 32) and each time we walk we discover new things and uncover new truths we didn’t notice before. No matter how many times you walk the same street, something will have changed. Walking can be seen as a means of liberation because we have the freedom to go where we please, in what manner we decide. For instance, the “twentieth century Situationists called ‘drifts or ‘derives’” (Crab Man and Signpost, 2011, 9) walk without destination. Walking aimlessly allows us to observe the things we see and even look more closely at the events unfolding around us. To walk without destination is to disrupt the everyday routine of life. The majority of people in the City always have somewhere to be and because of this, the flow of City life becomes fast-paced and continuous. The act of drifting, however, disrupts this flow and it is the drifter who is then seen as out of place and something to be gawked at, which in turn forces the majority to slow their pace, even if it is for a minimal amount of time.

When walking in the City, it is important to observe the way others walk and the direction they are walking in. In Pearson’s, Site Specific Performance, he lists the many types of walkers and he expresses that when walking, “architecture controls and limits physical movement and sight-lines; it can stage and frame those who inhabit its spaces” (Pearson, 2010, 21). Pearson emphasises how architecture itself places us in a space so that we can only see to a certain extent. Architecture obstructs our view from seeing into the distance and gaining the bigger picture of the City as a whole. Limiting the area of sight forces us to look at the surroundings which are closer to us, enabling us to engage on a more intimate level. With this in mind, for our performance, we will use proxemics to our advantage by positioning ourselves in the audiences line of sight by exploring the city and discovering the places where we are most likely to be seen.

Crab Man and Signpost (2011) A Sardine Street Box of Tricks. The Blurb.

Pearson, M. (2010) Site Specific Performance. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan