TravelWriting: September 2010

Sunday, 26 September 2010

Interchange

Commercial / Broadway interchange of the Skytrain's Millenium and Expo lines, Vancouver.

Three journeys

Skytrain, Millennium line; bus 25 along King Edward; Skytrain to Lougheed Town Centre, 23 and 24 September. A $2.50 ticket allows 90 minutes of travel, including transfers.

Written on the road

Asphalting over the cracks. Ford Road, Pitt Meadows, BC.

Friday, 10 September 2010

Train journey

East Coast line to Aberdeen, ScotRail to Huntly. Seat reservation tickets, each between two stations; pen, and pencil; Saturday 4 September and Monday 6 September.

Why a wiggly line?

The idea for "journey lines" may have been triggered by the daily "process drawings" of artists like Marcia Hafif and Bridget Riley. I started drawing while riding on the underground after seeing some work by Lucy Skaer that consisted of repeated motifs filling a large sheet of paper ... trying to make some motifs of my own.

This evolved into an intention to simply draw a line that was as long as possible, on any bus, train, or tube journey.

Part of my project is to document these journeys on this blog – much as land artists like Richard Long document their journeys to have a record of the ephemeral work. But the journey lines are not themselves a documentation; they are a way of marking time, recording and making permanent the duration of the all-too-forgettable daily journey.

Drawing these lines is a way of being present in the daily journey - and of using "wasted" time.

Focusing on this drawing/writing gives a breathing space, away from everyday demands, yet part of the everyday routine, and a way of attending to the "disregarded everyday".

TravelWriting