‘Downward Exploration’ is an attempt to understand our connection to each other and the world around us, in a deeper and more valuable way.
Downward Exploration is my theory that staying for long enough to learn about small details is important. The inflections of speech, ways of seasoning food, body language, subtleties of gender interactions, how to eat with your hand, and even local TV soap operas all give us a greater sense of understanding of people and communities. Downward Exploration suggests that remaining in, or repeatedly visiting one community, can enable us to dissemble stereotypes and our own prejudices, and engage local voices in shared conversation thus reaching a more ethical place of representation.
I am still exploring, but in one place.
The adventure is in the detail.
“My idea of travel is a downward travel really. Getting to know where you are, better, and exploring feelings that you know more deeply. I always think that thing ‘knowing something by heart’ gives you a depth of possibility which is more potential than seeing new sights, however marvellous and exciting they are.” Lucian Freud