To measure the straight distance, by travelling the winding way

Whipps, Stuart (2025) To measure the straight distance, by travelling the winding way. Memory, Mind & Media, 4. ISSN 2635-0238

Preview

Text to-measure-the-straight-distance-by-travelling-the-winding-way.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike. Download (12MB)

Abstract

This text accompanies the performance A Foot, A Mouth, A Hundred Billion Stars , which premiered at the Lapworth Museum of Geology in the United Kingdom on 18 March 2023, as part of the Flatpack film festival. It includes both the text and a film version, developed during a residency at the museum. Over 18 months, I had full access to the collection and archives, selecting objects that served as prompts for stories about time and memory. A central theme of the work is slippage – misremembering and misunderstanding – as a generative methodology for exploring the connection between the collection, our past, and possible futures.

A Foot, A Mouth, A Hundred Billion Stars combines analogue media and digital technologies to examine our understanding of remembering and forgetting. I used a live digital feed and two analogue slide projectors to explore the relationships between image and memory. This article does not serve as a guide to the performance but instead reflects on the process and the ideas behind the work. My goal is to share my practice of rethinking memory through direct engagement with materials. In line with the performance’s tangential narrative, this text weaves together diverse references, locations, thoughts, and ideas, offering a deeper look into the conceptual framework of the work.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number:	10.1017/mem.2025.10003
Dates:	Date Event 19 February 2025 Accepted 29 July 2025 Published Online
Uncontrolled Keywords:	visual art, photography, narrative, memory, analogue materials
Subjects:	CAH25 - design, and creative and performing arts > CAH25-01 - creative arts and design > CAH25-01-02 - art
Divisions:	Arts > Art and Design
Depositing User:	Gemma Tonks
Date Deposited:	02 Dec 2025 10:49
Last Modified:	02 Dec 2025 10:49
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/16749

Actions (login required)

View Item