Perceptions of Place

This innovative, interactive show looks at the landscape through a contemporary lens. What it means to re-interpret everyday landscapes by investigating notions of liminality and temporality.

Liminality
Liminality, derives from the Latin, ‘limin’ meaning ‘threshold,’ signifying the ambiguity, marginalisation and transformations inherent to rites of passage (Van Gennep 1909). The British anthropologist, Victor Turner in his book, ‘The Forest of Symbols: Aspects of Ndembu Ritual’ broadens the scope of liminality to include notions of abstraction, subversion, and spatio temporality. Seen in every aspect of the in-between and recognised in all transformations, it is full of creative potential and transformative power. Catherine’s practice is based on an investigation into liminality through artistic interventions, such as poetry, photography, sound art and walking. These interventions respond to liminal light (at dawn, noon and dusk) in liminal spaces (everyday non-places; bridges, flyovers, pathways, piers, tunnels and underpasses) with the aim of exploring liminal states of mind (Auge 1995, Relph 2009).

Temporality
In his first book ‘Time and Free Will’, Henri Bergson proposes ‘duration’, which refers to the continuous flow of subjective, lived time, in contrast to the quantifiable, measurable time of clocks and calendars. For Bergson, duration involves an ever-flowing, continuous process of change, a constant becoming rather than a series of static points. He emphasized that our perception of time isn’t simply a collection of discrete moments strung together but rather a fluid, organic progression. Bergson’s concept of duration challenges us to perceive time beyond the constraints of measurement and linearity, encouraging us to embrace the richness and indivisibility of our lived experiences. James’ practice is based around an investigation of how the exploration and manipulation of temporality (and duration) might lead to a portrayal of the landscape and place which reflects our relationship with the land we inhabit and move through.

Please note that to listen to the immersive sound works you will need a mobile with a QR code reader plus your headphones.