Trespass

A site-specific app/artwork by artist Layla Curtis

Trespass is a site-specific app/artwork by artist Layla Curtis that uses a custom drawn map, geo-location and audio recordings to tell the story of Freeman's Wood from the perspective of those who have used it.

The app invites listeners to participate in an oral history of Freeman’s Wood, an area of urban edgeland on the outskirts of Lancaster, England, which has been used for decades by local people for recreation, walking, cycling, foraging and play.

Working closely with members of the local community, the artist recorded a series of audio interviews conducted while interviewees walked through Freeman’s Wood. App users are invited to follow routes mapped onto the landscape while listening to the voices of local residents and users of the land, as they remember this area in its past incarnations, reflect on the effect it has had on their lives, and speculate what the Wood’s future might be.

Trespass investigates our connection with landscape, the memories we map on to it, and our relationship with the semi-wild spaces that surround English cities. Personal memories, speculations, and reflections on nature, inspired by the now-fenced area of Freeman's Wood, create a series of interwoven narratives about boundaries, trespass, the value of nature and the true meaning of ownership of the land.

Trespass was commissioned by StoreyG2 as part of its ‘Landed (Freeman’s Wood)’ project. Trespass was conceived and designed by Layla Curtis and programmed by Ron Herrema. Funded by Arts Council England, Lancaster City Council, and Lancashire County Council.