It was a great pleasure to work with Radio Wolfgang on the production of this podcast as part of their Good Nature series. We used the device of the algorithmic psychogeographic dérive to talk about how to unlock the ‘unknown facets of the known’ (in the words of Greil Marcus) and explore the world around you anew.
I first came across the idea of the algorithmic dérive via Wilfried Hou Je Bek some time around 2002 and it proved very useful in generating community participation in the Remapping High Wycombe project (2004-05). It was subsequently used in a psychogeographic intervention in artist Bob and Roberta Smith’s 2015 General Election campaign and became the subject of one of his paintings that ended up in a feature in Elle Decor.
Last weekend I sat down in the London Olympic Park and delved into a long list of brilliant questions submitted via the Community tab on my YouTube channel and Instagram Stories.
Here’s a list of the questions with the timestamps in case you’d like to navigate to a particular part of what became an epic video:
Contents of this video 0:00 Intro Stratford Olympic Park 01:32 Grotty Fringe of the Olympic Park 02:21 Will you do more South London walks? 02:49 Most memorable bit of folklore 04:24 Which era of London would you most like to walk around 06:19 Do you get scared walking on your own 06:47 If you could say one thing to planners and architects what would it be 08:21 If you needed your ashes scattered in London where would it be 09:28 Favourite pre-Roman or prehistoric site in London 10:14 Particular walking book you would like to see reprinted 10:38 Is there a river flowing from Hampstead Heath through Belsize Park 11:05 Do you listen to music on your walks 11:22 Where have you felt the most remote 12:00 What’s your longest walk 12:42 How I started my walks 13:56 Would you consider walking further afield such as the Thames Estuary around Tilbury and Gravesend 15:02 Where are the women psychogeographers 19:01 Favourite discovery on a walk 20:07 Who was Jack the Ripper? 23:23 Will we ever know more about Boudicca? 24:39 What is your professional background or upbringing 26:07 Growing up in the Chilterns 26:52 Austin Osman Spare walk 27:42 First Job and have you been unemployed for a long period of time 29:38 What got you into psychogeography 32:05 Psychogeography outside London 34:26 Best thing you found on your travels 35:02 When will you do a walk through Temple 35:35 Radical Rambler Cap? 36:00 Will the Leytonstone Centre for Contemporary Art make a comeback? 36:20 Would you another City e.g Bristol 37:30 Favourite Author, Novel, Ale 38:29 Views on some modern architecture 39:10 Will you do a Southend walk to the Anglo Saxon burial site at Prittlewell 39:20Thames Bridges walk 40:02 How does your wife feel about your long walks 41:21 Strangest encounter on a walk 43:44 If you could walk anywhere in the world where would it be and why? 45:20 Kray Twins walk? 46:22 Most disappointing walk 47:34 Will you get a haircut after the restrictions are lifted 47:40 Will you write another book? 48:31 Any trouble or threatened on a walk? 50:15 Inspiration to start and film these walks 53:10 Thank you for your questions
