Procession: An exercise in exploration of spatial-political relations (2015)
Artists: Anton Lapov & Victoria Sarangova
Initiated within the framework of 4th Moscow Summer Curatorial School
Instruction
Aim: to turn politically constructed space into a referential map which could provide a basis for a problematizing discussion (e.g. reconsideration of social-political issues)
Technique: walk through the city as cognizant ritual
Actions order:
1) choose two geographical points (start/end) that mark places of historically consecutive events.
2) define trajectory of procession
3) explore public space (e.g. think about the ways of public space appropriation, “right for the city”, urban dynamics and shifts)
4) choose your way of documentation of the process
5) conclude the whole process by discussion (beyond the final point)
Walk (procession) resembles commemorative practice as a setting for issues of claiming public space in Moscow/Russia and re-actualizing of alternative imaginary political horizon.
Starting from formalistic approach, imperative of art production and bringing particular internal intentions in process of realizing of project, we gradually came to the idea of critical potential of walk (procession) as an educational spatial activity. The entry point of enquiry was our personal intention predetermined by social-political and historical issues, tendencies of external vs. internal ethical judgments and the particularities of our own artistic practice, different from each other.
We decided to walk from monument of victims of Putsch in 1991 to grassroots memorial at the place of assassination of Boris Nemtsov. During this journey audio field recordings and photo/video fixations were made at some arbitrary
points.
However, in the process of discussion that took place after walk all the preconditions mentioned above turned into critique of subjective stance and its relevance to political (spatial) concerns.
These are some references of such critique:
- personal intentions and interests provoked idea of this project
- personal relation to political issues
- problem of left discourse and Ukrainian specific (maidan, right-wing
rhetoric)
- turn left or turn right?
- what is left and what is right today
- social-political issues of Kalmykia
- post-colonialism/decolonial turn
- borders relations
Thus, by expanding specifications of this project after its formal ending through inevitable discussion, it was possible for us to realize Procession as a specific method of education.
We should mention that such practice that encompasses both spatial exploration and dialogic process could be considered in domain of ancient Greek education - in particular, peripatetikos - empirical spatial observation and knowledge production. Another relevant notion may be Psychogeography.
Such change in perspective from production of knowledge to self-discovery of new method of establishing a dialogue was the Turn itself.
Anton Lapov and Victoria Sarangova