In 2002 we were commissioned to make new work that linked the city of Stratford-upon-Avon with its sister city Stratford, Ontario in Canada. After research trips to both places it was clear that the global positioning system might provide a means with which to physically navigate between two locations. It was a technology that claimed to tell us where we were at any given point and prevent us from becoming lost, even when immersed in physical or cultural events like snowstorms and tourist attractions. It was a way in which to make a physical tracing of a place, towards making an experience more tangible.
The installed work was a series of walks made physical in the gallery space. The walks were made by the artists and local school children in Stratford, UK and Stratford, Canada. The mirroring of routes and processes in both places echoes the perceived similarities between the two Stratfords. The physical installation, where the routes are physically brought together to produce a third space for the audience to explore, is evidence of the different topology, and of disparate experiences of place.