nettime: CITY EXCHANGE

[Alexei Shulgin <easylife {AT} glas.apc.org>]

From: Rachel Baker <dtp01rb {AT} gold.ac.uk>

Proposal                           CITY EXCHANGE no. 1

Moscow/London/Budapest/Berlin

The basis of this project is to conduct a series of psychogeographical 
explorations of various cities and, ultimately, to initiate a network/index 
of psychgeographical pursuits through physical city exchange and symbolic Net 
exchange.

By inhabiting the cultural/geographical life of another person for a period of 
time (1 month) individuals would construct parallel/shadow narratives in 
Chandleresque detective mode, employing psychogeographical strategies for 
uncovering the secret life of city, suspect, detective and the narrative 
process itself.

The word 'narrative' is  open to interpretation and experimentation as Net 
'narrative' or hypertext demands. The detective genre has particular resonances 
for notions about the city and fitting fragments of an elusive whole together 
in a way that feels conducive to the hypertextual World of the Wide Web.
The stories of Paul Auster have informed some of the logic behind this project 
as has the situationist principles and techniques of psychogeography.
Narratives need not be constructed purely from text. Concurrent to the Website, 
material exhibitions of psychogeographical detective work would be presented to 
live audiences at  affiliated venues in the various cities.

SOME KEYWORDS:
Narrative/ content;  detective, investigate, evidence, clue, city, noir, 
shadow,
accident, parallel, coincidence, trace,  uncover, intimate, fragments, 
motive...

Form(s);  report, notebook, diary, map, list, dictionary, lexicon, index, 
encylopaedia...

ACTORS :
*detectives/suspects
*intermediary
*clients

MEDIUMS :
Internet
photography/text
radio
live art space
city
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*DETECTIVES/SUSPECTS;
Would swap cities and homes with each other.

Would conduct investigations of each others individual relation to the city 
they live in,and search for evidence of the movement, patterns and traces left 
by each individual on the cultural and geographical life of their city.

Evidential material in the form of found objects, photographs, testimonies and 
anecdotal statements by friends and associates to be gathered and put together 
to form parallel narratives.

Each would investigate each other and guide each other in parallel detective 
work around their respective cities using psychogeographical techniques and 
methods.

Correspondence would be established via email and entries in a journal. 
Journal items (images and text) and reports are dispatched to a website for 
public scrutiny.

A good detective is one that notices the accidental.


*INTERMEDIARY;
Would set specific psychogeographical assignments and edit/maintain/design the 
web-site and journal. 
Would arbitrate and mediate between the investigator/ guides. Set some rules 
and boundaries.

*CLIENTS;
Interested net browsers/psychogeographers who would like to set specific 
assignments/tasks for the investigator/guides via the website. 
Could result in establishing ongoing psychogeographical global network and city 
exchange.

Rachel Baker  <dtp01rb {AT} gold.ac.uk>
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