I was intrigued by this brief “Methods of Investigating” because as a person who has never been to London I was eager to explore/collect insights and knowledge about the new city.
Just a 10-minute walk away from my place can take you to the Themes. Exploring that area I found the “Alderman Stairs” a narrow passage that ends at the shore of the river. I am from Bogotá, Colombia a place that is 2.640 m above sea level, surrounded by mountains, the nearest river passes through the outskirts of the city and isn’t part of the urban landscape as the Theme does.
The project referents were a helpful resource that gave me a sense of guidance to this observation, specifically Sophie Calle’s “The Hotel, Room 47”, she portrays the traces of human activity and speculated on the lives and habits of the guest. The effortless and unpretentious way she collected information inspired me to look deep into the small details of this place.
Similarly Paul Elliman´s typography project “Bits”, encourage me to use collecting as a method of investigation.
METHODS OF INVESTIGATION [Photography, sound recording and collecting]
The following is a map of my conclusions from Week 1:
- Photos/Video:
- It is evident the passing of time.
- Trace of human vs trace of nature.
- Collision of human and nature
- It is a place of calmness, solitude. People find rest, comfort in the view and sound of the waves.
- A little peaceful corner of London.
- Sound
- Aggressive and gentle sounds of nature.
- Lonely place where nature dominates.
- Collecting
- Pebbles, trash, junk.
- They’ve become part of the landscape and ground of the place.
- Materials such as: Plastic, glass, iron, metals, tiles, concrete, bricks.
- It is unclear the time of origin, purpose of most of the objects found there. They could have been there, centuries, days or hours.
- Its evident the trace of time.
- The edges are smooth, the colors are worn out and rusty.