​​Drift in the Mapocho River basin brought together students from the “Apoyo Integral” Program around walking as an aesthetic practice

Crystal clear waters, stones of different colors and textures, flora and fauna, are part of a little explored route in the Mapocho River basin. A path that the photographer Sebastián Mejía has traveled several times over three years, observing through his lens and his senses, an ecosystem that offers multiple experiences and perspectives. Together with UAH students who are part of the “Apoyo Integral” Program (PAI) of Fundación Mar Adentro, we carried out a drift to discover, without a fixed destination, what nature offers in this point of Santiago from a sensitive perspective.

         The journey began at the Carol Urzúa roundabout on the edge of a 42Km bike path, where a sign with the phrase “Mapocho alive” – an organization that has promoted this route – welcomes those who enter the basin of the most emblematic river in the capital. About ten students from various disciplines, such as history, social work, sociology, psychology and journalism, were part of the development session.

The activity was prepared by the FMA Learning area, led by Amparo Irarrázaval, who highlighted the importance of these types of sessions to contribute to the comprehensive training of students through group reflections and experiences beyond the academic field, encouraging discussion and the dialogue between the students and the artist who mediated the session.

The activity sought for the PAI students to share  amongst themselves, where the concept of “drift” operated as an input to encourage creativity and exploration, at times solitary, and at other times, collective. Sebastián Mejía, reported that in his walks he had come across various species, such as rabbits, kestrels, poppy and tomato seeds, which shows the new life that is sprouting in that space. “On these tours it is important to pay attention to what we see, hear, touch and how we walk. Sometimes we find secret places or connect with our search for freedom,” he said.

Exercises and reflections from aesthetics

Among the exercises carried out as part of the drift were taking color photographs of the objects on the route, exploration, auditory recordings and writing about sounds and aromas. The concept of drift has been addressed by the researcher Horacio Fernández, who states that:

“The drift is recommended. The city is the space for the representation of symbols, memory and dreams, the place of creativity and freedom, of order and its transgression, the site of complexity. It is made up of layers of vestiges, tensions and pleasures. In it personal relationships are established and those imposed by power are accepted -or rejected-. Every city has doors that anyone, in the company of others better than alone, can open when they are closed” .

The students were also suggested to read ” Walkscapes : Walking as an Aesthetic Practice” by Franco Careri , who mentions, among other topics, the “empty spaces” of the city, those chaotic environments that escape design and the architectural planning of cities:

“There is an enormous amount of empty space that makes up the backdrop against which the city is planned. These are spaces that are different from the empty spaces traditionally understood as public spaces – squares, streets, gardens, parks – and make up a huge portion of unbuilt territory that is used and lived in infinitely different ways and that, in some cases, is completely impenetrable.”

Nature as a vital part of existence 

After finishing the drift, PAI students shared their reflections and captured images together with representatives of FMA, an instance in which they valued the experience. Gabriela Labra, a sociology student, stated that it had been “a space to connect with each other as members of the PAI and also with nature. It made me think about the dialogues between human and non-human communities, because while sociology is human-centered, we are not alone.”

         Maricarmen Pino, coordinator of the PAI from the UAH, meanwhile, pointed out that it had been an enriching day, both personally and collectively, where “the invitation to be appreciative of our environment was a gift.” In addition, she valued the event in terms of its potential to stimulate the ability to appreciate what is close to us and critical reflect on it.

Edward Sultant , a social work student, for his part, reported that in his day-to-day life he has few opportunities to stop to appreciate the natural environment of the city, so the experience allowed him to “disconnect from everyday life and see how we are part of the ecosystem, see what nature offers us as a vital part of our existence”. Likewise, Sultant linked the activity with his profession insofar as “this type of instance promotes well-being, a fundamental issue for my discipline, since people must live as dignified as possible, that is, all people should have spaces to reconnect with themselves and with nature”, he reflected.

The PAI carries out three annual development sessions whose main objective is to contribute to the reflection and diversification of the university experience. These conferences imply carrying out activities that provide multidisciplinary tools to develop capacities that allow them to discover their environment (natural, cultural and personal), and in this way understand and influence the way of relating to it, explained the person in charge of the FMA Learning area, Amparo Irarrázaval.

About Sebastián Mejía: His photography approaches the urban landscape in a personal way, and works in an analogous way, focused on vestiges of primitive life that goes unnoticed in the modern metropolis. The practice of walking is a key tool in his creative process; through drift, supported by photography, he generates random cartographies to tour the city.