A look back at our collaborative creations

Laura and I are in the process of devising two new projects and as part of that we have been reflecting on our collaborations to date. So we have decided to share this relection here. 

Our project is in its early stages but our process for this work is being heavery impacted by our new time difference of 8hrs. Laura in Banff myself in Norfolk. 

 

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.

The journey began in Riga

Over the course of September-November, we are presenting our latest project: '2360 Miles Travelled Hand to Heart', as part of DISTANCE, a mobile festival featured in three locations this year: Riga, London and Newcastle.

Our ambition is to physicalize the distance between these three locations: 3789km. So in Riga, accompanied by audio of Laura's steps in Toronto, I measured out a scaled-down version of this distance in rope. Each metre (roughly the distance of our hand to our hearts) represented 10km of the global journey from Riga to London and London to Newcastle and Newcastle back to Riga. In Toronto, Laura walked a scaled version of this journey, counting 2 of her steps for every km.


Then began the walking, our attempt to erode this distance by taking walks in each of the locations with audiences, following directions that represent the global journey over Europe and the UK.

We crossed borders, changed time zones...

followed water...

and arriving again at our Riga, our journey's end, we measured how far we had travelled. The distance each person travelled was then cut from the measured rope.

Each step travelled helped erode the distance.


11 participants and several km travelled

and many more to go! London here we come...

Riga see you soon

I am packing my bags for Riga where our journey officially begins. I wanted to say thank you to all the brilliant people who have generously donated rope for this new artwork.
Thank you to Ivan in Yorkshire for the retired theatre rope. Thank you to Holly from number 83, and Holly's dad who raided his shed. Thank you to Celia and the retired garden swing. Thank you for the donations from Canada and the beautiful coil of practice Knots left on Laura's door step. Finally a huge thank you to Gandrs in Riga who have donated a stunning quantity of climbing rope to help us reach our target amount.
Each of these ropes have individually had many journeys of their own, but together they will now form a new journey. - one taken from Hand to Heart - a journey from Riga to London and London to Newcastle and back again to Riga.

Riga see you soon
sorrel

2360 MILES: Rope Required

We are currently appealing to organizations and individuals to donate their used and retired rope for a performance we are creating for the Homo Novus (Riga, Latvia), LIFT (London, UK) and Wunderbar Festival (Newcastle, UK), for DISTANCE, this autumn.

Any lengths of rope that have finished their working life, could new have a new life in this artwork, 2360 Miles Traveled Hand to Heart. Central to our project, which is projected to reach thousands of viewers, will be a large rope installation with donations from our host cities (Riga, London, Newcastle). Each length of rope will be tied end to end to form a scaled representation of 2360 miles (the cumulative distance between the three cities where the performance will be showcased). We require 380 meters of rope in total. This is where you come in.

We are hoping to source rope from climbing centres, theaters, and boatyards like your own. The rope will simply be measured out and coiled, therefore we are able to use rope that is no longer suitable for load-bearing or tethering.


photo for '2360 Miles Traveled Hand to Heart' by Daniel Jardine

In order to start building he piece, we will need the rope by August 26th, 2011. If you have any lengths of rope that you can spare for our project please let us know via email: sorrelandlaura@gmail.com, with details of your location and details of the rope (i.e. colour, approximate width and length, etc.) and we will arrange for pick up or drop off at a central location.

For more information on the project, please see below. Feel free to forward to others who may be able to help.

Warm Regards,
Sorrel Muggridge and Laura Nanni
sorrelandlaura@gmail.com

DISTANCE

DISTANCE is a mobile performance festival that brokers connections between festivals, artists,

audiences and ideas across the world. It seeks to create new connections between festival

communities by commissioning performances that are developed and experienced across a

network of festivals. This year, DISTANCE connects Homo Novus, LIFT and Wunderbar, 3

festivals located in Riga (Latvia), London (UK) and Newcastle (UK) over a duration of 3 months.

These festivals share an ambition to bring internationally significant artists to their festivals and

create memorable experiences for, and with, their audiences.

DISTANCE uses the physical, temporal and cultural distance between each festival as a starting

point for exploring new ways for artists to make performances in an international context, and to

consider new ways for audiences to experience international performance.

DISTANCE is led by Joon Lynn Goh and Simone Kenyon. In 2010, DISTANCE was established as

an independent festival through a collaboration between Third Party and Stoke Newington

International Airport. This year, DISTANCE goes mobile, with an ambition of forging regional and

international artistic communities.

www.fromadistance.co.uk

http://www.homonovus.lv/lv/homonovus-2011/

www.liftfestival.com

www.wunderbarfestival.co.uk

Space in Translation: From Here to There in 9 directions and 15,640 steps

walking process/ mixed media, 2011

Our latest work featured in the Plotting a City exhibition curated by Patrick Macaulay at Harbourfront Centre, Toronto.




We have been collaborating long-distance (usually with an ocean between us) for over four years. Individually, our practices have always responded to our preoccupations with human geography and site specificity. Collaboratively, our works embrace the unusual and inspiring consequences of the distance between us. We create site-specific artworks that articulate the value in wandering and being curious, that discover and communicate a sense of place; investigating how people understand and connect with their surroundings.

With Space in Translation: From Here to There in 9 directions and 15,640 steps, we embarked on a shared process of walking, journey making/taking and mapping while in separate cities. Laura began at the intersection of King and Queen St. west in Toronto and walked to Harbourfront Centre, transcribing directions based on landmarks that stood out to her along the way. These directions were passed to Sorrel, who in turn followed them in Norwich UK, beginning at the spot where King and Queen St. meet in her city. The rules given: trust the directions as you follow them and enjoy the possibilities while interpreting them; ask for help from those around you when need it; and record your number of steps taken. The resulting map is a distillation of our journey. 1 cm = 125 steps.


(click on images to read)

Sorrel Muggridge graduated with her Bachelor of Art degree in Contemporary Arts from Nottingham Trent University in 1998. She has an interdisciplinary art practice, making performance, installations and public art projects, and curating exhibitions. Muggridge has received commissions to make temporary public artworks and performances in London, Nottingham, Brighton, Toronto, Banff and Leicester and has presented performances in Nottingham's Expo, Nott Dance, and Now Festivals. Currently, Muggridge is developing A Curious Meander, which will be featured as part of the Norfolk & Norwich Festival 2011. Sorrel is also member of the Norwich-based arts collective, other/other/other, which is focused on creating and presenting site-responsive and durational work.

Laura Nanni is a Toronto-based interdisciplinary artist and curator. She has presented her work in public spaces and at festivals, galleries and theatres, including 7a*11d International Festival of Performance Art, Nuit Blanche and Toronto Free Gallery, Toronto; Angel Row and Bonington Gallery, Nottingham; and Galapagos Art Space, New York. With frequent collaborator Sorrel Muggridge, she participated in the Walking and Art Residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts, in addition to creating multiple site-specific works across Canada and the UK. Other projects include co-editing CTR 126: site-specific performance and Pick 7, an interactive mapping piece devised with Erika Hennebury for Hub 14. Nanni is currently Festival Director for Buddies in Bad Times' Rhubarb Festival.

More on Plotting a City:

http://www.harbourfrontcentre.com/visualarts/yorkquaycentreYQC11_1.cfm#E

http://toronto.openfile.ca/toronto/file/2011/02/finding-place-city

http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/02/10/at-the-galleries-urban-affairs/

The artists would like to acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

The Perfect Place to Meet Anywhere

This weekend we invite you to find the perfect place to meet; no matter where you are. We've created a set of directions that should help you get there.

1. Start at the train station, by the steps, facing the art centre. Here, turn right and walk to the end of the street.

2. Pass the bush with berries and sign of higher education.

3. Turn left, heading for what might be a library.

4. Pass the bird house and a drawing in rust. (At the junction look back the way you have come).

5. Keep going towards the building with rainbow colours on it. When you reach it, turn right.

6. Continue for approximately 561 steps, or past 14 hazard signs, or until you hit the bench on your left. Here, follow the railing down.

7. Now step on to softer ground and head for the blue; keep straight seeing the sky touch down to meet you.

These directions are written from real observations and places, but meant for open translation and creative interpretation. Have fun, explore and play!

Postcards are available at the Norwich Art Centre's Live Art event. http://norwichartscentre.co.uk/afterlive/
When you reach your final destination, use the blank side to record where you are: the shapes, sounds, objects and textures or features that make up your surroundings.

Where will you arrive? How about your neighbour... or the stranger in another city?

If you are without a postcard, we encourage you to find record your findings in another creative way. Email (sorrelandlaura@gmail.com) or mail them to us (c/o 281 Margueretta St., Toronto ON, M6H 3S4), and we will share them here. If you send us your return address, you will also receive another journey from us.

Where will we meet?

Come back and see.

En Route

Hello all! Over this past year, Sorrel and I have been in research and develop for both our collaborative and solo work. This will continue until next spring as we develop our latest collaborative project, City of Correspondence. From the city streets of Toronto, the harbour of Halifax, the sidewalks of Norwich and alleyways of Glasgow, we hope you'll follow our journey.

This past month I followed the same directions Sorrel followed to find her way in Norwich (Sunday April 19, 2009 entry). This is where they led me in Halifax, Nova Scotia:

1. Start at the right-hand side of the train station, by the steps, facing the art centre. Here, turn right and walk to the end of the street.

2. Then, pass the bush with berries on it and a sign of higher education.

3. Next, turn to your left follow the street towards the large building that might be a library.

4. Pass the bird house and a drawing in rust. At the junction look back the way you have come.

5. Walk towards the building with rainbow colours on it. When you reach it, turn right.

6. Continue for approximately 561 steps, or past 14 hazard signs, or until you hit the bench on your left. Here, follow the railing down.

7. Now step on to softer ground and head for the blue; keep straight seeing the sky touch down to meet you.