As I’ve routinely
outlined, much of the source material from my artwork, (both visually and
conceptually), comes from my wanderings around various cities with a
camera. It’s an ongoing activity that I
try, perhaps rather grandly, to ally with the respective spirits of
Psychogeography, Flâneurism or The Situationist Dérive. In reality, it may be no more than the
routine search for environmental/contextual stimulus that could be expected of
any artist, but I hope there are certain attitudes of mind brought to my
excursions that ally them, at least partially, with those theoretical
traditions.
Whether carried
out on foot, by bike or car, or indeed any other available transport means,
I’ve been in the habit of referring to all this as ‘Urban Exploration’. However, last month I read an article,
leading in turn to a little further online research, which makes me think I
should adopt a different term for my activities.
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| Robert Macfarlane's Own Hero Shot. Photo: Bradley Garrett |
The article,
written by Robert Macfarlane for The Guardian [1.], was essentially a promo for a recently published
book by American hipster academic and urban adventurer, Bradley Garrett. Garrett’s book, ‘Explore Everything: Placehacking The City’ [2.], is the culmination of his own PhD
studies and participation in what others were calling Urban Exploration long
before I ever adopted the label. In this
context, we’re talking about those intrepid, adrenalised trespassers who mount
planned incursions into abandoned industrial ruins, drainage and transport
systems, construction sites, disused military installations and any secret
place where access or free passage are restricted. I was well aware of the phenomenon, but
hadn’t appreciated just how widespread, (indeed global), an activity it had
become. In the article, Macfarlane even
goes beyond the normal scope of a book reviewer by allowing Garrett and his
associates to conduct him in a little underground expedition of his own.
 |
| Photo: Bradley Garrett |
There’s a fairly
obvious extreme or street sports aspect to all this and not a little of the high-fiving
and whooping rad-dudery that often characterise those worlds, (although it’s
clearly not an entirely male culture).
Many ‘Urbex’ trespasses take place in filthy, dark, dangerous and
physically demanding locations and the macho skills of spelunking, climbing,
orienteering and sprinting, (to evade security), can all be called upon. Experience, research and careful pre-planning
are essential. Injury and possible
long-term ill health are obvious risks and there have been occasional
deaths.
However, behind
the hardcore bravado are a number of intriguing theoretical or psychological
impulses behind these attempts to hack or subvert the highly prescribed/proscribed
urban environments most of us now inhabit.
There is an implied testing of how much freedom of movement remains to
the average citizen and also of the tricky issues around private and official control
of once public spaces. ‘Urbexers’ pose
an overt challenge to the boundaries between legal and civil trespass and the (often
unexplained) presumption of secrecy that pertains to so many sites. For some, clear political agendas run through
the subculture as a whole. They may seek
to uncover the possible (or imagined) conspiracies of silence, exploitation or
sinister activity attached to certain sites or illuminate, (quite literally), how
marginalised populations are forced to live rough or actually underground in a
city’s hidden zones. Elsewhere, they may
simply claim the right to access a panoramic view or vantage point that has
been annexed for profit, (it costs £25.00 to view London from ‘The Shard’s’ summit).
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| Photo: Bradley Garrett |
For others, the
motivation appears more involved with a very human desire to simply explore the
hidden rather than any specific political impulse. They take a delight in peeling back the
multiple layers of urban geography to discover what lies beneath, (or indeed
above), and seek out a vertical as well as horizontal reading of the built
environment. This reflects a desire to
understand the physical systems and infrastructure that make a city function,
(underground railways, drainage, etc.), but inevitably leads also into reading the
chronological strata that constitute it, (wartime remnants, industrial
archeology, abandonment, earlier incarnations, past lives, etc.). Wherever the emphasis is placed, I think there
is an unmistakable Psychogeographical impulse behind the phenomenon of Urban
Exploration.
 |
| Photo: Bradley Garrett |
There’s an
essentially benign anarchy to it all too, coupled with a refreshing impulse to intrude
non-destructively. The general attitude
is one of simply occupying and witnessing a site for the sake of simply being
there. In contrast to those who seek to
alter, damage or ‘decorate’ forbidden locations, most Urbexers are content to
simply ‘be’ in a place then document their discoveries in photographs and
videos. Where a gesture has been
required, hanging a removable banner or posting visual evidence and ‘hero
shots’ on web forums have generally been sufficient. This process of routine visual chronicling
and a delight in the physical appearance of generally overlooked or
transitional places is of obvious relevance to my own creative habits.
 |
| Photo: Bradley Garrett |
A major,
inescapable connection is the theoretical legacy of The Situationist International. Desires to short-circuit the prescribed street
plan, to experience the city with immediacy and subjectivity, or to sample
experiences beyond the mere surface of things, are essentially Situationist in
nature. This is true, be they political
or artistic statements or just strategies to experience one’s surroundings more
fully. Urban Exploration takes its
place, alongside Graffiti and Street Art, Happenings, Pop-up or Flash Mob
gestures, and the tented encampments of the Occupy
movement, as they ripple out from Paris, 1968 and the wider Debordian
moment. Above all, it is an explicit
attempt to access a grittier, more vivid reality, however grimy or hazardous,
behind the slick corporate facades and hypnotic, pixelated imagery of the
Capitalist Spectacle.
 |
| Bradley Garrett: Underground Academic |
Although his
primary focus appears to have shifted, Bradley Garrett himself has been an
enthusiastic participant in Urban Exploration.
He was particularly associated with the London Consolidation Crew, - infamous for visiting every one of the
London Tube network’s disused ‘Ghost Stations’, and for their climb to the top
of the unfinished ‘Shard’ tower. ‘Explore
Everything’ is his account of those years and the exploits and ultimate
demise in the face of legal action, of the LCC.
If he exhibits a typically American self-confidence and bushy-tailed desire
to make each year more memorable than the last, (which could get a little
tiring, I fear), he also brings a serious academic intent to the subject as his
websites demonstrate. Whilst the www.placehacking.co.uk
site is now archived, www.bradleygarrett.com remains fully active and covers
the whole field of his studies as a Geographer and Ethnographer, as well as accounts
from the Urbex front line. Both sites
are full of his vivid photography, insightful writing and links to impressive
video work. Particularly recommended
among the latter are, ‘Crack The Surface:Episode I’ and ‘Episode II’ and ‘Urban Explorers: Quests For Myth, MysteryAnd Meaning’. Whilst the first two
showcase many of the scene’s prime movers and shakers in action, the latter provides
fascinating reflections on it from various academic
viewpoints.
Even in my prime,
I never had the physical prowess or reckless courage demonstrated by Garrett
and his contemporaries and remain essentially risk-averse where physical jeopardy
or legal action are concerned. Nevertheless,
in my own cowardly way, I fully understand the curiosity that can lead one to
poke the camera lens where it may not always be welcome in search of
alternative readings of a city. I’m fascinated
by these bulletins from travellers into regions I might not dare enter myself
but really don’t think I can continue to apply the term ‘Urban Exploration’ to my own more sedate, (but hopefully,
creatively valid), excursions. Perhaps,
from now on, ‘Urban Observation’ or perhaps ‘Urban Documentation’ will have to do instead.
Postscript:
From reading Bradley Garrett's own blogging, I know he is, (slightly ironically), very protective of his own intellectual property. I hope he'll accept my appropriation of his images here in the spirit it is meant, (as a celebration of his work) rather than any kind of money making rip-off.
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