Vertical Eight

Introduction

Welcome.

This short introductory peregrination is meant to show some of the ideas and methods behind using psychogeographic techniques to explore, rediscover and be inspired by our surroundings. Lots of examples will be given but just stick to those methods that help you document your own experience and ignore those that don't suit your way of expressing your thoughts. You can always give them a go in the future. The walk is intended to take one hour but going slowly and taking longer will allow for fuller and more nuanced observations.

What is Psychogeography?

The term psychogeography, 'the influence of geographical environment on the human mind', seems to have first been mentioned in 1904 by an American ethnographer J. Walter Fewkes and was revived in 1950s France by the Letterist and Situationist groups.

By the 1990s, London had become the epicentre of the movement -

“Under the influence of English writers Iain Sinclair and Peter Ackroyd [psychogeography] has come to refer to an archaeological, vaguely occult, approach to the city, where that which already exists is walked through at random, the rich historical associations leading to recondite, occasionally critical chains of association and reflections on the nebulous spirit of certain areas.” Owen Hatherley, _{A Guide to the New Ruins of Great Britain p122.}

Contemporary psychogeography overlaps eco-art and land-art, merging with environmental awareness and encompasses a wide gamut of practices.

To me (ER), psychogeography is about taking time to recognise each sensory experience and each feeling that a location evokes, to follow a simple score and to record the performative act of paying attention so that it may be shared with others.

The Form of the Walk

We discussed how a psychogeographic walk could start -

Completely unplanned - moving freely from one point of interest to the next.
Randomly - adding a bit of chaos to the mix through a coin toss or dice roll decisions.
Using a Score - following a set of instructions where the outcome varies by implementation unfolding as you go.
Planned - a start point, a route, activities - each participant adds their interpretation.

In this case the walk is a mixture, with a theme and a planned route, but with the expectation that we will investigate things which catch our interest.

The vertical theme for this walk was inspired by the history of the area. Edinburgh Old Town had narrow plots due to its confinement on the ridge of land running from Castle Hill down to Holyrood Palace, flanked by steep slopes, city walls and the Nor' Loch. Multi-story buildings were common from the 16th century. At ground level the muck and rubbish accumulated, with those better off living on higher floors, away from the filth and smell. As the city expanded, the stratification of society remained as the sloping areas were arched over to create level access and the vaults beneath used for storage, public houses and low-income housing.

The route of the walk forms the shape of an 8 on the map as we look up while heading down to underneath our starting point and look down while heading back up to meet ourselves where we began.

Recording Your Experience

A simple note book and pencil are provided, echoing the vertical nature of the walk. (Instructions to fold your own.)

Keep things simple and focus on what catches your attention, how does the area make you feel? These are notes, not a finished piece, so make them as rough or chaotic as you like. Use a camera or your phone for recording if you choose.

Write one word to summarise
...or a paragraph.
Make a quick sketch or diagram.
Photograph.
Audio.
Video.

More optional exercise ideas in the sections that follow, plus examples made on the day.

1

Central Library, George IV Bridge

A building where you enter in the middle over a bridge! The Central Library was established in the 1890s, the architecture inspired by a French hunting lodge and the building paid for by the steel magnate Carnegie, who insisted on the stone-carved motto "Let There Be Light" on each of his library buildings.

In the hustle and bustle of the busy bridge traffic it is difficult to focus. The building is rich in ornamentation, the street full of people. Above and below, a frenzied mass of visitors - including us.

Exercise one is to take a moment, breathe, and try to distill the place down into one detail, one word.

2

Victoria Street, opposite Upper Bow stairs

We are heading downhill, looking up. The paths and roads are diverging, Closes, stairs, ramps - threading through the buildings, layering up the accessible external areas and merging traffic and pedestrian routes to the secret stores. Where do those doors go? How do people use this place? How was it intended to be used? When did the place get painted these garish tourist colours?

Exercise two is to think about how this area appears on a map, how to express the levels, the directions. Draw your own subverted map.

3

West Bow, by the Bow Well

Utilities - invisible beneath our feet or over our heads. Water rushing, electricity buzzing.

The Bow Foot Well was the first water supply to the Grassmarket from the Castle Hill reservoir in 1674. A vital service now taken for granted.

Exercise three is to think about how utilities blend in or stand out. In addition to the historic well, there is also a modern communications exchange cabinet. The well is decorated with latin script, the modern merely with part numbers and codes. Try making a wax or pastel rubbing of the raised text, tear up the textures, form your own lexicon.

4

Cowgatehead, and under George IV Bridge

We are down in the belly of the city and our perspective shifts. Directly under where we started at the pinch point crossing of the 8. Roads converge and buildings angle up to the roundabout. The Magdalen Chapel has been there since the 1540s, while the Virgin Hotel from the 2020s. Conversions, reuse, gentrification - what changes, what remains?

Exercise four is to think about how to convert one experience into another. Kandinsky thought that different angles and shapes could be expressed in different colours. Try using colour to denote shapes, or shapes to denote sound, or music to express movement, words to represent the texture of the walls. Make some abstracted associations.

5

Cowgate, behind the Sheriff Court

Listen as the traffic passes beside you and over your head. People passing, cyclists, tour groups and pub goers. Migrating from one place to another.

The arches that form the bridges date back to 1785 - a clear route into the city, the first bypass to improve access and hide the seedier side. Pubs and penitentiaries, the public and the private.The Sheriff Court rises above on it's own arches.

Exercise five is to consider how to show what is hidden or how to hide what is shown. The structure of the provided notebook can be folded in different ways - draw underneath another page or across two so the meaning splits, try writing in the form of an acrostic.

6

Guthrie Street, steps

Desire paths and shortcuts.

Grand ideas brought grand desires and the slum of old College Wynd where Walter Scott had been born, was replaced by the light and airy Guthrie Street and a set of steps as a shortcut up to the University quad. Today, Victorian sensibilities would be shocked by the "convenience" of the street, suitable sanitation still missing and the stench of the previous night's revellers usually present.

Exercise six - instead of noting what is present, try imagining what is missing? Erase and make some gaps, cut out some space.

7

Chambers Street

Memorials and institutions. Meeting and waiting.

25 years ago the new museum was built. Recently the street design has been adapted to make it easier for visitors to gather, the old museum steps becoming an ad-hoc theatre for street performers. The Sheriff Court tucked behind the University architectural department exerting quiet control.

Exercise seven - consider all the past decisions hiding behind those facades - who to educate, who to incarcerate, who to collect, who to memorialise? Who would you add to the list? What does this street suggest to collect or to return? Collage the fragments, do a cover up.

8

National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge

And we finish the loops of the 8 by returning to (almost) the starting point.

The football pitches of books and maps beneath street level are the perfect resource to find out more about the area, to look through the layers of time and the stories embedded in this urban landscape.

Exercise eight is to do some digging through the archives and follow the points of interest through paper or digital trails. Who was that statue? How do they get the yellow road marking paint to do that? Why are there two roads there instead of one? When was that gas explosion down the Cowgate? How do I feel about the place now I know more?

Conclusion

... or just the beginning?

Repeat the walk:

Record your notes using a different medium.
Compare how the route changes due to time of day, weather conditions, season, number of tourists...
Go faster, go slower!
Reverse your steps - do things appear different when moving in the other direction?
Be selective - only look at one section, take a section as a new starting point.
Apply a different score - search only for a specific colour to photograph, be led by a sound and draw the shape, ask passers by what they notice and be led by their answers.

How does your state of mind and the context of the day change what you observe?

Has what you have experienced brought to mind an idea for a piece of work? Or is it better to mull over the walk without considering outcomes?

Optional

Share your findings and creations:

Tag us on social media - #peregrinationsedinburgh
Email us - peregrinations@lostpathpress.co.uk

We would love to see what the walk has inspired you to record and to hear about your own psychogeography adventures.

Catherine Marshall has shared her poetic photo essay (PDF)