Oleg Kolimbet

Zine on how a random route selected by a phone app turned out to be a lens through which I could capture elements of urban identity in their natural manifestation.

The questions that shaped my research within the framework of experimental walking art practice:
— Can a random route, mapped out without regard for the location of the city’s significant sites, reflect elements of urban identity?
— To what extent does the perception of these elements depend on the medium used to capture them? Is what you see with your own eyes the same as what you capture on camera, or are they different perspectives?
— Does the choice of direction and shooting angle influence one’s perception of a place?
— Are your eyes, in principle, capable of competing with photography, and your verbal language with visual language?

I’m leaving these questions unanswered, since in this case the process is far more productive and important than the result itself. But one thing I’ve realized for sure: a path chosen at random can reveal the city not merely as a map, but as a living system of its identities and relationships.