2360 Miles Travelled Hand to Heart - Going the DISTANCE in Newcastle

"This is the last leg of our journey.

This has been our attempt to feel distance, to know it, to be able to hold on to it and really feel it.

The distance we are working with is equal to 100^th of the way to the moon.

Half way to the centre of the earth.

OR from Newcastle to the North Pole…

Nearly.

And that distance is 3,798km or 2,360 miles.

It’s a pretty specific number and the reason is that it is the distance that links three places:

Riga to London, London to Newcastle and Newcastle back to Riga.

To capture this distance in the room we’re working with this distance on a human scale represented in rope.

So, if you clasp the rope in your hand and make a fist knuckle up,

The amount you have in your hand is equal to 1km.

Now because this distance is large we want to count it using a larger measure so if you place your left hand on your heart and stretch your right arm out, from the tip of your finger to your heart is approximately 1 metre. So for our purposes, from your hand to your heart is equivalent of 10 km."

Walking in Newcastle: We followed directions of the global journey between these three cities, interpreting them on the streets of Newcastle. Each participant wore a pedometer, keeping track of their distance travelled.

The Last Count: We measured the rope, counting hand to heart, and gathered in our arms (with the help of our audience), 380 meters, representing the 2360 or 3798km the distance from Riga and London, London to Newcastle and back to Riga.


Together, we measured hand by hand and cut from this, the 52km collectively travelled by all those who took part in the walks in the three cities.


52 hands.
52 kms travelled.