Initially inspired by Laurie Lee’s novel “As I walked out One Midsummer Morning”, Ali Pretty and Mike Johnston received a bursary from Walking The Land to walk in the footsteps of Lee from the French border town Ceret to the Catalonian town Agullana. They were commissioned to create a response for The Art of Walking – A Walking the Land exhibition that explores the paths between walking and creativity.
Their first meeting was with Christian Piquemal, a passionate Catalan walker who guided them through a trail of artists that resided in Ceret in the early part of the last century. On their journey Ali and Mike explored the long history of Catalonia and the many ancient paths that lead back and forth across the mountains, used for centuries as a means of escaping from and connecting across a moving borderline.
The work is a response to the walk, the Catalan struggle, culture and landscape, and the artists who have been moved and inspired by the resilience and creativity of the people they met along the way. They have created a narrative in seven parts expressed through silk hangings, moving image and audio.
It was exhibited from Saturday 6 September to Sunday 5 October 2014 at The Museum in The Park in Stroud. Showing parallel with Laurie Lee: Poetry, Art and Landscape, this exhibition showed new work created by artists who were inspired by their experiences when participating in the Laurie Lee Centenary Walks.
“I just wanted to say the banners look amazing, really wonderful, our foyer space is totally transformed!” Abigail Large, Museum Administrator
