Touching topography : negotiating landscape encounters with 'several parts' of the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

摘要: This collaborative research project explores the significance of Wye Valley Area Outstanding Natural Beauty as a meaningful site for contemporary society and especially small selection artists who reside there, some them, over thirty years. The has enquired to possible agency landscape in expressive media artist’s part catalyst creative process. Over last four hundred years, many representations Western Europe, including those Valley, have reduced human experience topography vertical, flat oblong plane. By being framed, drawings, prints paintings hedged foliage, cordoned vistas fenced off panoramas. Such depictions arguably comprehensive, corporeally centred encounter an ‘ocularcentric’ one. Subsequently, due continued nature framing, photography, more recently, smartphone photography done little dissolve frame placed between us world we witness. repeatedly reinstates visual values others continues centre on account reality. A botanically abundant setting such Lower is sensorially stimulating site; place within which be near living (and dying) matter; investigations were therefore situated predominantly arboreal along Wye, roughly Ross Chepstow through implementation broad range intentionally immersive methodologies. using auto-ethnography, observation, ambulatory interviews, researcher-led group walks making pilotstudies, it was hoped that any resulting data would informed by actual encounters with material location. adopting physically approach study, intention elicit primary responses from participants iv endorsing multi-modal experiencing intended result ecologically empathetic relationship place.