Corridor, 2009
As part of Spring Green, a commission for the Architecture Centre Bristol and Groundwork Southwest, I explored the river Malago. Stretching from the edge of Bristol to the city centre, the Malago is a green corridor that provides a space for wildlife, and a route for pedestrians and cyclists.
The route of the river, although interrupted, provides a transect through the city – a line that passes through very different areas of habitation. I walked the Malago with various companions, each one offering a different way of seeing the river, and revealing the multiple relationships that surround this stretch of water, and the land that borders it. I walked with a birdwatcher, a herbalist, historians, a conservationist and campaigner, a representative from the South Bristol Riverscape Project and Bristol City Council.
Walking the river, one gets the sense of being on an edge, behind the scenes of the city. There are glimpses of back gardens, gasworks, industrial estates, and occasionally moments when you could believe yourself to be in a rural valley.
The material from these research walks informed a public performance and walk, developed in collaboration with Pete Harrison.
malago.wordpress.com
Research drawings
