Slow Walking Project
Slow Walking Project
A durational performance and public activation
A durational performance and public activation
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I share reflections about my practice via email
My mom calls me a sloth for being slow at responding, talking and moving.
It makes me wonder,
if I am 'slow', then what is the right speed to move in?
And more importantly, how and who decides this speed?
I decided to take a common action, walking, and push it to the the most extreme end of speed I could to understand how that would impact myself and the people walking around me.
In 2022, we held a public workshop for slow walking in Queen Victoria Market, Melbourne.
Slow Walking Race (2023)
Slow Walking Race (2023)
The following year, we staged a Slow Walking Race in Queen Victoria Market. The race invited members of the public to sign up on-the-spot to join a race, where merit is attributed based on slowness - where to win the race, one must reach the finish line last.
More than 30 participants raced each other to cross the finish line last.
Each participant was gifted a certificate at the end of the race detailing the time they took to complete the race course.
The slowest time recorded to complete a 5-meter course was 1 hour, and the fastest being 1 second.
Here's a quote from Koder, the winner of the 40-meter slow walking race with a whooping 2 hours : 31 minutes : 27 seconds record.
Here's a quote from Koder, the winner of the 40-meter slow walking race with a whooping 2 hours : 31 minutes : 27 seconds record.
"I had to slow down and come to terms with people around us walking at a regular pace, and being left behind. I had to grow to be okay with it if I wanted to have a chance at winning... My tip for future slow walking racers is to imagine moving atom-per-atom of your body."
"I had to slow down and come to terms with people around us walking at a regular pace, and being left behind. I had to grow to be okay with it if I wanted to have a chance at winning... My tip for future slow walking racers is to imagine moving atom-per-atom of your body."
-Koder, 2023
Photograph by Casey Horsfield, Astrid Muller, Jacqui Gordon and Reinhart Tanto.
This project was devised through MPavillion's Public Protocols (2021) professional development, and further developed through Testing Ground's Public Art Park (2022 & 2023)
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