Longing for Open Spaces - Forms of Walking

Walking and wandering around in an open space can be an exceptional experience. Whether enabled by social status or driven by necessity, walking represents a way of self-liberation and freedom.

The simplest forms of movement such as walking and wandering, have become cultural topoi. Still, by examining their contemporary practices, we can better understand what defines our current present in crisis and possible futures.

Anyone who starts walking simultaneously experiences and signals their own presence. But one can also have the feeling of absence at the same time, moving away from the places of everyday constraints or even by opposing their forms. But it's not only the protesters and marchers who can experience their sense of agency; simple walkers, wanderers, pilgrims, and even those fleeing can too. As they move forward, they gauge the space through their bodies in a direct, sensory way, while also sizing up their own abilities. This way, the landscape becomes both a place for intense physical and sensory experiences, and the walker goes through self-reflection. So, walking itself and the desire for open spaces strengthen identity.

Meanwhile, during the walk, we experience the landscape—even if it's a place we know well from before—as atopic, as 'somewhere else,' and suddenly it becomes both liberating and comforting at the same time. The continuity of movement and the transience of position—paradoxically together —create stability. The body that has found its rhythm and the relaxed mind together surrender to time and space, making things that were previously incomprehensible understandable, and mysteries can become solvable. Augustine referred to the possibilities of this state with the expression "solvitur ambulando," that is, "to be solved by walking," making it clear why walking had earlier become an occasion for thinking and sharing knowledge for ancient Greek philosophers.

But walking can be not only an act of discovery but also of renewal, since by exploring an area, we can contribute to change by gaining scientific and ecological experiences. While those who form symbiotic relationships with other life forms due to climate changes caused by the exploitation of the planet can only survive the new situations in nature by living in constantly moving communities. The landscape itself can become a place of public presence during long marches, and beyond the urban landscape, the rural landscape can also become filled with this meaning.

This way the possibilities of freedom and survival are revealed. At the same time, by entering and experiencing large, open spaces, we cannot simply free ourselves from our physical and mental confinements but also transcendentally experience our being at home and finding our home in the world – in one word, the fulfilment of presence.
The works featured in our exhibition suggest what walking in its various forms might mean and how it could offer solutions.

Spacial thanks to Márton Sóti

Further details soon