Artists step out for InTRANSIT 2011

News in pictures
News in pictures
On Facebook
Arts & Ents blogs

Heidi: I don’t want my night to ever fizzle off, I want to finish it with an explosion

In Miami last year I discovered a DJ named Heidi Van Den Amstel, who played a brilliant set at Sunda...

Becoming Damien Hirst? You’re not the first

Damien Hirst, the richest, probably most famous, contemporary living artist, once remarked: “I don't...

The Photography Blog: Rise of the smartphone, but smart photography too?

Assuming Mark Zuckerberg hasn’t got his sums wrong, the market for smartphone photography is booming...

It's the tourist season, as London once again fills to capacity with crowds visiting landmarks. But InTRANSIT 2011, Kensington and Chelsea's annual festival of kinetic arts, is running a day of free, artist-led perambulations that instead of visiting existing landmarks aim to create new ones by the very act of walking.

Among those stepping out is artist Amy Sharrocks, who made a splash with her 2007 performance piece Swim, in which she guided 50 goggle-eyed volunteers across London via its lakes, lidos, ponds and pools. Think the Pied Piper, only in Speedos. Swapping wetlands for dry with new work Lost and Found, Sharrocks will once again lead a merry dance, but this time she will guide walkers around different areas of Chelsea via their mobile phones.

"My work is about journeys and movement," says Sharrocks, who will direct participants from base camp at Chelsea Theatre. "I don't script things; I just invite people to join in. But what happens if you're not navigating yourself? What are you free to notice in the world and on the walk?" Using GPS technology, Sharrocks also hopes to investigate what it means to be "in touch". "We are living an increasingly isolated experience in a vicarious and virtual world. I want to explore that remoteness."

Walking art is nothing new – William Wordsworth was an early proponent, and sculptor Richard Long famously launched his career with 1967's A Line Made with Walking – but following a recent surge in practice, Chelsea Theatre will also be hosting a symposium: Walkie Talkie. Sharrocks rejects the notion of an official movement (so to speak), but nevertheless welcomes the discussion.

All walks meet at Chelsea Theatre ( www.chelseatheatre.org.uk)

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Career Services

Day In a Page

Bee Gees star Robin Gibb loses cancer battle

Bee Gees star Robin Gibb dies

British songwriter who defined disco described as second only to the Beatles
Antelope first seen 20 years ago is on brink of extinction

Endangered animals

The good news and the bad news
Second best day of his life? Zuckerberg surprises friends with secret wedding

Second best day of his life?

Zuckerberg surprises friends with secret wedding
Laurie Penny: In the age of camera phones the message is that protesters are watching police too

Occupy in the age of the camera phone

In Chicago, you can't see the cops for the cameras
Exclusive extract: How Cameron tried to evade Murdoch's embrace

Exclusive book extract

How Cameron tried to evade Murdoch's embrace
Pathetic fantasist or Nazi spy? The mysterious Mrs O'Grady

Pathetic fantasist or Nazi spy? The mysterious Mrs O'Grady

She was the only British woman sentenced to death for treason during the Second World War. Now, a new book revisits her bizarre case
Introducing the wellderly

Introducing the wellderly

Growing numbers of the over-65s want to keep working, volunteer or go on gap years
Penny Junor: 'I'm absolutely not a friend of Prince Charles'

Penny Junor interview

'I'm absolutely not a friend of Prince Charles'
Joe Strummer: The angry young man who grew up

Joe Strummer

How to remember the punk hero?
Patrick Cockburn: Goodbye to recent delusions - the age of nationalism is back with a vengeance

Patrick Cockburn: Goodbye to recent delusions...

... the age of nationalism is back with a vengeance
AN Wilson: Can Hollande live down the rain on his parade?

Can Hollande live down the rain on his parade?

The new French President's debut last week has drawn comparisons with Clouseau. But AN Wilson says curious things can happen after a downpour
Slumdog the musical calls in Julian Fellowes

Slumdog the musical calls in Julian Fellowes

Danny Boyle has broken off talks on staging his hit movie after an argument over artistic control
Like hotcakes: Bill Granger thinks the world is about to go pancake-crazy

Like hotcakes

Bill Granger thinks the world is about to go pancake-crazy
Siren sisters: The fishy tale of America's strangest theme park

Siren sisters

The fishy tale of America's strangest theme park
Blade Runner with a female lead: All-action gals... just like mother

All-action gals... just like mother

It's no surprise Ridley Scott is to remake his sci-fi action thriller 'Blade Runner' with a female lead