Thorpe Cloud // Peak District
Thorpe Cloud
Walking and carrying series
14/11/16
Duration 2 Hours
We walked to the top of Thorpe Cloud following the three individual routes along the crests of its three sides.
We are carrying concrete stools that we have made ourselves.
When reaching the top of Thorpe Cloud we explored the summit, in relation to walking, sound, and sight.
Thorpe Cloud is an isolated limestone hill lying between the villages of Thorpe and Ilam on the Derbyshire/Staffordshire border at the southern end of Dovedale.
Elevation: 287 m
Prominence: 79 m
Coordinates 53°03′22″N 1°46′34″W
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A week previous to the exploration of Thorpe Cloud we decided we wished to explore walking and carrying, with an object of substantial weight representing a metaphorical weight of thought; thought around the environment that we were exploring and what we carry with us. Taking the idea of the weight we unconsciously carry, a weight of the mind, feeling and association within our natural and city environments, and physically constructing that weight in the form of a concrete stool that we made and each carried.
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We started our ascent of Thorpe Cloud at individual points, at the bottom of one of the three crests where the three sides of this limestone hill meet. All starting at the same time are ascents took between 10 and 20 minutes, stopping along the way to capture images and contemplate the weight that we were carrying.
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When reaching the top we sat on our stools and experienced the amazing 360° views of the Derbyshire countryside that surrounded us. We then found our own space on the summit of this hill, a space to reflect, and to respond to a quotation that we had randomly selected at the bottom of the hill from the philosopher Henri Bergson.
“The pure present is an ungraspable advance of the past devouring the future. In truth, all sensation is already memory”
Henri Bergson
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We then individually responded to the environment around us in relation to our Bergson quotation, as well as keeping in mind ideas we had been exploring in workshops. Such as: leading and following - removing sight - exploration of found objects and environments – Walking and carrying.
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After an hour of exploration in response to the environment, we gathered on the very top of Thorpe Cloud and sat on our stools once more signalling the end of the performance.
