Walking on and off the Path - Hamish Fulton

Hamish Fulton is a walking artist. He was born in Britain in 1946 and has become one of the most important figures in contemporary art. Breaking away from the so-called Land Art, Fulton has spent the last 50 years investigating walking as an artistic practice on hundreds of solo and group walks. He observes the landscape, does not alter it, leaves no trace.

Walking is an act against alienation. As he himself points out: Walking, without resorting to any other means of locomotion than our own feet, without substitutes, allows us to experience life: «relaxation, exercise, meditation, health, oxygenating the brain, transport, sport, peaceful protest marches, art, and much more».

Since 2009, the Cerezales Antonino and Cinia Foundation has seen walking as a movement of thought. It shares the idea of being invisible, to a greater or lesser extent, in a complex world, while also affirming every declaration of intent as a commitment to action, beyond theory. FCAYC has adhered to the rules that define the place in which its actions are situated and, to this end, has had to walk within it, perceive the distances beneath its feet, among its neighbourhoods, adopt its vocabulary, and understand the proximity between its wild aspect and that which has been altered by man. All of this has shaped its philosophy.

Therefore, FCAYC claims to walk as a policy and turns to Hamish Fulton, a benchmark in the practical application of this methodology. The purpose of this collaboration is to approach the relationship with the context as an ongoing process rather than a collection of objects with greater or lesser artistic reflection.

Para llevar a cabo este proyecto, Fulton ha realizado una caminata circular en solitario durante 14 días, por la zona occidental de Picos de Europa, el contexto en el que se circunscribe la Fundación. En octubre del 2016 y partiendo de Soto de Sajambre, Fulton daba continuidad a otras siete caminatas interconectadas por la Península Ibérica, que ya realizara en las últimas décadas.

Walking on and off the Path (en español: Caminar y apartarse del camino) es el título de una exposición producida por FCAYC y fruto de esas jornadas caminando por la montaña leonesa.