A Refracted View

Try it out. Go for a walk. Discover things. Respond. 

A workshop on walking cards and prompts for experiencing the world differently...perhaps at a slower pace. Now you're refracted up and ready to go. 

Led by Amy Johnson. With thanks to the members of East Kent Mencap for their beautiful reflections on what this idea of refracted really means. 

Contribution from Liz Elton.  "I love the image of the pen in the glass of water on your blog, the way there’s a shift or disconnect caused by the light and water.  It prompts me to think of more than one view existing at once.  I think something that art can do well is show us a space to think, ask questions rather than spelling out answers" lizelton.com  @liz_elton

Contribution by Owen Lowery. The Crash Wake Poems no.30

REFRACTED FUTILITY “haw! hrr, haw!” — the others 1. don’t be lured by the phenomenal emptiness of leaves study a composite, cloud-free view of the world: the rain forests and rivers provide all of our needs 2. our planet speaks a knot of properties luminous details flash mating signals through the night of mind 3. inhibiting travel at the speed of light the way up & the way down are points of light crowding out the dark an exploding quasar 4. is the principle objective of humanity an experiment with numbers 5. data absorbed in loops and clusters no single point of energy burst & feeds on the word form on the look-out for new structures, which may be old getting high on the J-curve 6. life disposed in packets: mud, quill, badger species enter focus as high birds track them to crystal & remeld the gradations gathered around the fire let knowledge go as words boil up, spoon out clusters 7. make transfers by pressing eyeballs to the page become the frame, the parameter, the signpost and road leading to evidence: of stone heads, backs to sea 8. ghosts of palms, conifers & mahogany hang in the smoky haze of the room 9. you are open, fields, a pathless way look out from the corners of your eyes 10. a fish in a forest on a fjord no longer resists Jonathan Skinner 

"As a photographer, refraction is integral to the image making process. Refraction happens in the camera lens, and again in the enlarger lens, bending the light through the concave lens to produce an image. The light is physically slowed down through the interruption of the glass lens, with the aim to produce or document the image on the outside of the lens. On a more conceptual level, refraction to me means allowing a chance for the interruption of time, and in this space are opportunities. It's important to me that the image making process is slow. To create my images, I venture off on foot, either walking or running or on a push bike with my 35mm camera by my side. Creating the space for moments to happen, this is where I feel I really begin to experience life outside of a social construct. The images form a kind of archive of the time spent outdoors, which are reflected upon at a later date and printed in the darkroom. To quote Nan Shepherd in her book The Living Mountain "My eyes were in my feet". Being refracted, to me, means to be slowed down, to change your perspective from the norm & to create a space where magic happens." socials: @emilyroseparris

For every contribution 'A Refracted View' receives - Elspeth takes a thread to represent the people and their ideas. She weaves these threads together to form a rope. This is an ancient Andean culture of communication. The ropes form quipus. They are emotional and physical records. A way of communicating across time. 

"As with light,  if it is unable penetrate its way in a straight line it will deviate and alter it’s course. Having our directions altered by Covid has left us all reeling and wondering how to find our way forward." Melody Bottle #Refracted

We are starting this journal to share in our storytelling. This is a project sharing local stories created with artists, friends, and East Kent Mencap members. We will consider where we live, how we live and how we might live. These stories will be brought to life through A Refracted View.