It encourages us to look at the lake Balaton ecosystem with a new kind of attention - to explore not only how humans shape the landscape, but also how the landscape may affect us.
What is our role? How does our presence unfold?
The performative walk covers key sites in the ecological networks of the Balaton Uplands: the coastal zones covered by reed or loaded by human infrastructure, buildings, fishing piers, the further wooded pasture, the ancient oak forests, and the nearby cosmos.
We explore the unique characteristics and ecological aspects of the landscape with the help of artists, designers, psychologists, philosophers and biologists. Together we connect with the environment and share our knowledge of how fascinating, complex, generous and fragile our ecosystem is.
Slowing down is coupled with focused attention. We touch. We hear. We see. We taste. We sniff. We feel. We change perspective. We call out the names of parasite species. We map tiny bits of information that inhabit the legendary Peloton Meadow. Like flowers, we connect to the underground network of fungi, exchange sugars, protein and knowledge. We sharpen our ears to the sound of the reeds. The sound of laughter is leaking out of the fishing boats. Frogs croak. A sudden splash. The hustle and bustle of the Balaton evenings fade in. We twitch at the shepherd's bell. Like a flock, we walk to the shade of the big tree in the pasture, trampling the ground and carrying the seeds stuck on the fur all across the region and its boundaries.
We pause our fixations and approach the landscape. Where is the so-called here? Through what framework do we look and what do we focus on? We revive the zones of curiosity.
Together we tune into the Lake Balaton landscape, its ecological and active processes.
SLOWWALK is the event series of szabadonbalaton and is organized in the framework of the BALATORIUM programme of the Veszprém-Balaton 2023 European capital of culture.
