The 4th World Congress of Psychogeography was held on 6-8 September in Canterbury, on the themes of Heritage and Hiraeth. (see https://www.4wcop.org/) Hiraeth is Welsh for “deep longing for a person or thing which is absent or lost; yearning; nostalgia; spec. homesickness.”
Our entry was a self-directed walk around the Cathedral Quarter, with geolocated sounds offering an ‘inner voice’ to challenge your perceptions. The geolocation was handled by Echoes XYZ. No-one reported technical problems in downloading or using the app. The sounds were clearly located and mostly audible. It helped to put some noticeable reverb on them, so they stood out from background street noises.
Pilgrimages typically end at a fixed point, but what happens when you’ve got there? This walk took people who had travelled to Canterbury, and invited them to explore the Cathedral Quarter listening to geolocated sounds as they went. They received inspiration and guidance from Debord, Baudrillard, mediaeval mystics, Zen Buddhists, and others, around the themes of signs, images, and consciousness. They were invited to explore the meaning of what they see in the “here and now”, whether their Hiraeth was a deep yearning for God, for revolution, or for an expertly crafted cappuccino.