RAMBLING WITH REASON | KAT WOOD
22-25 FEB 2024 | 12-6PM | THE OLD BREWERY SPACE | FREE
Rambling with Reason was a collaborative event between Outsiders Store, Patagonia Manchester & Cloudwater Brewery to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the momentous 1932 Kinder Scout mass trespass and help realise its enduring importance and vitality today.
When we were approached by Patagonia asking us to collaborate on their planned commemorative ramble, we took it a step further and produced an enhanced concept including three major elements; A ltd edition commercially available (25k cans) beer brewed by Cloudwater Brew CO, a beautiful zine by local artist Kat Wood, featuring words by Nick Hayes, author of the bestselling "Book of Trespass", and of course, the walk on Kinder Scout with 100+ ramblers storming the moors.
The first element we added was a keepsake for participants on the ramble. We wanted to create something with meaning and purpose that wasn’t just a wasteful, hollow freebie. Attention turned to the strong message behind the event and a way to expand on it. The best way to do this we thought, was a simple zine featuring the history of the Kinder Trespass, some writing on its relevance today, and a map so you can follow the route again, unguided. The very notion of “zines” has a DIY, punk attitude which gels nicely with the energy of those free-spirited radicals in 1932. For the design, we knew a local artist perfect for the task. Kat Wood is a multidisciplinary artist based in Manchester who comes from a shepherding background, with an active farm in the Peak District close to Kinder itself.
Using newspaper cuttings and photographs found in the archives of the Working-Class Movement Library in Salford, Kat made cyanotypes for the pages of the zine, exposing the prints on Kinder Moor and using water from the Downfall to rinse and wash them.
Once the pages were complete, we gathered the content. The telling of the tale was written by Martin Porter, Grandson of one of the original trespassers whilst the second half was taken care of by Nick Hayes, author of the bestselling, “The Book of Trespass”. Nick wrote about the Kinder Trespasses' enduring importance and drew attention to the ongoing Right to Roam campaign in England.
Printed on paper made from spent brewers’ grain in a limited run, you could pick up a copy either on the ramble or in Patagonia & Outsiders Stores.
Kat Wood lives and works in Manchester, United Kingdom. The narrative of her work focuses on the political history of the rural, through skill-sharing workshops, performances and publications. Kat Wood studied Fine Art Photography at The Glasgow School of Art. She has published two photography books with Ceremony Press; Prawn Dumpling and Skudde, which are stocked in Good Press (Glasgow), Open Eye Gallery (Liverpool), Village (Leeds), The Photographers Gallery (London) and Rare Mags (Stockport). Wood’s work has been exhibited at Street Level Photoworks in Glasgow and HOME in Manchester. Wood has worked on various commissions with Patagonia and The Right to Roam Campaign and has delivered various practical skill-sharing workshops with The Ruskin, The Whitworth and Art Works South Yorkshire.