And Now For Something Completely Different Thinking Through Explorer Subject !

odie"# A $e"pon"e to %ott &nd $obert"

Bradley L. Garrett School of Geography and the Environment University of Oxford bradley.garrett@ouce.ox.ac.u !arriet !a" ins #epartment of Geography $oyal !ollo"ay% University of London !arriet.!a" ins@rhul.ac.u &e "ould li e to begin by than ing 'ott and $oberts for spar ing a valuable conversation regarding issues of social difference "ithin the contemporary urban exploration movement and Antipode for offering a platform for the discussion.( &e read )*ot everyone has +the, ballsUrban exploration and the persistence of masculinist geography. +'ott and $oberts /0(1, in the midst of co2authoring a boo chapter on bodies% technologies% and affect through the production and circulation of urban explorer imagery +Garrett and !a" ins forthcoming,. &here these t"o conversations dovetailed% "e found much productive material. 3n "hat follo"s% "e ta e up the
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4or those not familiar "ith urban exploration% it is a practice of accessing% and often documenting% off2limits urban spaces +see Garrett /0(1a,.

invitation that 'ott and $oberts offer to engage "ith 5uestions of social difference% and their call to consider ho" feminist scholarship could 6significantly enrichen scholarship on 7urban exploration89 +p./,./ &e "ant to ta e this opportunity to open out a politics of urban exploration that% "hilst concerned "ith revisiting the 5uestion of body2sub:ects 2 as 'ott and $oberts urge 2 suggests "e might begin from some"here other than the particular understanding of socially differentiated bodies that preoccupies their contribution. &e ta e as our guides for such a pro:ect feminist scholarship on corporeal materialisms and force relations by Eli;abeth Gros; +(<<=> /00?, and others% and the elaboration of these ideas that $achel @olls +/0(/, offers in her affirmative feminist criti5ues of non2representational theories. By mobili;ing these ideas "e "ant% in the same spirit of feminist creative2criti5ue% to revisit the practices and nascent geographical literatures on urban exploration% to mar ne" directions "ithin them. Ahe politics at sta e here% "e "ould suggest% is one that poses the far from ne" 5uestion of )ho" to ma e a difference. "hen "e mobili;e a politics +and ethics, beyond representational concerns.1 Ahis response is
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&hile 'ott and $oberts use the common contraction 6urbex9 throughout their paper +as do @raggs et al. /0(1,% "e "ill deploy the term in full 2 urban exploration 2 primarily because the contracted form has often been used flippantly% "ithin the community +and beyond,% in an attempt to trivialise the practice and certain sub2sections of the community. See also Bennett.s 6)Bepsi 'ax. vie" of urbex as young% fun y and counter2cultural9 2 http-CClu ebennett(1."ordpress.comC/0(/C0/C//Cdefensive2enthusiasm2anora s2bun ers2and2the2erotics2of2 no"ledgeC 1 Ahis is not to say "e do not recognise representational concerns and "e fully ta e 'ott and $oberts. point regarding the aggressive masculinities displayed on some urban exploration blogs and forums. &e agree that these should be countermanded. Scholarship by #omosh +(<<(,% $ose +(<<1,% 'addrell +/00<, and others on masculinist geographical no"ledge and exploration could prove a valuable resource for doing so. &e have issues% ho"ever% "ith 'ott and $oberts. particular approach. 3t seemed that% rather than ta ing for"ard the pro:ect to ma e space for feminist thin ing in scholarship on urban exploration% their critical focus served to exclude those hidden voices they could have been productively locating and amplifying. On discussing 'ott and $oberts. paper "ith the community via blogs and 4aceboo % a series of concerns "ere raised. 4or many "ithin the community% the caricature they found "ithin the paper bore little resemblance to their experiences. Explorers did not deny instances of overt masculinisms% and "ere sensitive to other forms of marginalisation and exclusion. 'any told us% ho"ever% they sa" community as a )safe. tolerant space based on care% generosity% trust and friendship that dra"s together people "ith

necessarily only a beginning% much thin ing and empirical "or remains to be done on the material and affective politics of the sub:ect and on the affective politics of the image "e outline here% not only in terms of urban exploration% but also in broader disciplinary terms. &e hope% ho"ever% "hat "e present here offers a productive response to 'ott and $oberts. piece and raises some 5uestions for future scholars of urban exploration to engage "ith. A 'roblem&tic '&r&dox 4or us% a pivotal point of 'ott and $oberts. article% and "here "e "ant to begin our comments% is a paradox they identify6...on the one hand 7urban exploration8 emphasi;es embodiment and progressive politics% "hilst on the other% there appears to be a reluctance to consider different inds of bodies and the inclusionsCexclusions perpetuated through practices and discourses of exploration and the privileged explorer2sub:ect. Ds long as this paradox remains unexamined% possibilities for a radical engagement "ith the city through urbex "ill inevitably fall short9 +p.E,.

vastly different motivations and concerns from disparate social bac grounds. One explorer "rote- 63 felt that the voice of the female explorer "as not present in the article. Dlso it seemed li e the authors only loo ed at a small slice of UE culture% the part that is presented by mass media.9 4or others% it "as the narro"ness of the visual representations chosen by 'ott and $oberts that "orried them% ta ing issue "ith the article.s reproduction of "hat they sa" as a by2product of the visual practices of a relatively small% but highly visible +online, sub2set of the community. 'ott and $oberts "rite% 6"hile many "omen do engage in urbex% they figure often in photographic representations of the practice as minority figures "ho appear to be going along "ith an activity that is largely led and defined by the male explorers9 +p.(/,. Dmongst the reactions to this statement "ere responses that pointed to"ard both exploration never documented and the "ealth of images that never made it onto blogs or into the public domain that "ould have reframed this discussion. &hilst "e ta e their points on a representational level% and agree that the politics of these representations do deserve further criti5ue% "e found it unfortunate that the paper did not open out a space in "hich visual representations and voices +from the "eb and else"here, could challenge those vocal fe".

&e certainly agree that the literature on urban exploration "ould benefit from a more explicit engagement "ith difference +ho"ever it is to be understood,% given% as is implicit in the relatively small body of scholarly "or that 'ott and $oberts engage% geographical analysis of the practice is still incipient.= Ds both Bennett +/0((a, and Garrett +/0((c> /0(1b- (E2//,% have argued% this is a diverse community. 3t is one "here competing and contested identities and relationships to place "or alongside attempts to order% control and rationali;e places and experiences. 'oreover% there is a valori;ation of certain modes of )discovery.% some of "hich are undoubtedly% as 'ott and $oberts forcefully demonstrate% shaped by particular performances of masculinity. Ds Bennett +/0(1a, notes% ho"ever% they should not be reduced solely to such performances.? 4urther% and fascinatingly% these identity negotiations ta e place across a range of sites% the connections and interconnections of "hich are "orthy of further study> "hether these be the embodied experiences of exploration% the forums and blogs of the online communities that 'ott and $oberts ma e extensive use of% or the visual regimes and aesthetics produced in the

&e "ould urge caution in too2soon constituting a 6geographic literature9 on urban exploration% as this is an emergent topic consisting of a handful of articles by Lu e Bennett +/0((a> /0((b> /0(1a> /0(1b, and Bradley Garrett +/0(0> /0((a> /0((b> /0((c> /0((d> /0(/> /0(1a> /0(1b> /0(1c, +though also see @raggs et al. /0(1 and #obras;c;y /00? for connected discussions,. 'ott and $oberts. is an important intervention precisely because this is a nascent vein of of geographic in5uiry% but "e "ould "orry that in building their argument they have concretised% often through the scaffold of blog posts% a body of scholarly "or that is far less voluminous they suggest +see also footnote F,. 5 &ithin academic scholarship% both in and beyond geography% "e do find important studies being penned that open out some of these 5uestions about identity% discussing% for example% the role gender plays in urban exploration +Brescott /0((> Bennett /0(1a,% the role of illness and disability +Genos o /00<,% potentials for psychoanalytic readings +Geitch /0(0% or indeed many pieces from !ell and SchHnle.s /0(0 edited collection, and considerations of class +!igh and Le"is /00E,. Loo ing to the online community% there are a number of blogs that clearly celebrate difference "ithin the urban exploration community% for example the Bhiladelphia Gay and Lesbian Explorer Group +http-CC""".meetup.comCB!L2GLUE,% the "ell2 no"n 4uttslutts of 'inneapolis +http-CCfuttslutt.tumblr.com, and the )Girl Explorers. 4lic r group http-CC""".flic r.comCgroupsCgirlexplorers,% to name a fe".

course of photographing and videoing urban exploration activities +Brescott /0((> Bennett /0(1b> Garrett and !a" ins forthcoming,.F &here "e depart from 'ott and $oberts. perspective% ho"ever% is in the tight e5uation they dra" bet"een a failed politics of urban exploration I 6one that "ill inevitably fall short9 +p. E% emphasis added, I and "hat is% in their reading% of a lac of scholarly consideration of bodiesCsub:ects understood primarily through 6social categories of age% sex% ethnicity% race and disCability9 +Jacobs and *ash /001- /E?,. 3n short% "hile "e agree that there is important% indeed critical% "or to be done along such lines% there is also% "e contend% room for difference% the social% and body2sub:ects to be understood differently% or at least for understandings of these body2sub:ects% and their politics% to begin from a different place. &e see to brea do"n the settlement 'ott and $oberts calculate bet"een a successful politics for urban exploration and body2sub:ects sorted into named% no"n and represented identity categories% ho"ever intersectional and performative these might be.

Ahe role of the virtual urban exploration community% to both explorers and others% is a fascinating topic +see Bennett /0((a,% "here there remains much scholarly "or to be done% not least about the far from simple position occupied by urban exploration blogs that are both academic sites and points of engagement "ith the community +e.g. Garrett.s )Blace !ac ing.,. &e "ould urge caution% ho"ever% in the sometimes2too2easy conflation of sources that perform different roles. Ao state the obvious% "hat a :ournal article is meant to do% is not "hat a blog post is meant to do. &hile a :ournal article is often "ritten primarily to disseminate results of research to an academic audience% ta ing clear theoretical stances and advancing no"ledge% a blog post may be meant to inspire community gate eepers to grant access or inspire public interest in a research pro:ect. Ahese issues are further exacerbated "hen using an in2text citation format "here these different modes of production are unclear. Ahese different modes of production can themselves lead to a number of issues. Ds 'ott and $oberts. text illustrates% it can be difficult to appropriately ascertain "ho to credit ideas to. 4or example% a central citation to their argument about masculinity is the follo"ing 5uote from the "ebsite Sleepy @ity- 67h8is suggestion that "e lac ed balls confused us greatly% as those "ho go head to head "ith the rolling stoc in the grimy% dimly lit% alcoveless metro tunnels are usually not short on testicular fortitude% figuratively spea ing9 +p.((,. Extracts from this 5uote appear several times +p.(/% p.(1, and are implied in the title and are "rongly attributed to Garrett +the researcher,% rather than to the author of the Sleepy @ity blog% "hom Garrett accompanied to Barcelona as part of his field"or . 'ista es such as these can lead to problematic and potentially damaging claims.

3n "hat space remains "e "ant to lay the ground"or for a possible politics that begins from other ideas of body2sub:ects and difference. 4irstly% "e return to ethnographic accounts of the )doing. of urban exploration and re2interrogate the ideas of the body2sub:ect "e find there. Secondly% "e recoup "hat "e believe to be an important +contested, site for a political pro:ect of urban exploration- the images created in the course of these activities. &e vie" this through the lens of the urban explorer and artist 'iru Kim. &e conclude "ith brief reflections on "hat it "ould mean to ta e for"ard the version of a politics of urban exploration "e present here 2 one version of "hat a politics of this practice might loo and feel li e. !ecoming !odie"# Edgework &nd %eld Unsurprisingly% debates around politics and the body often settle out as% at root% 5uestions that concern the forms of politics and the ideas of the body2sub:ect upon "hich our perspectives rest. 3f 'ott and $oberts. 5ueries concern social difference and the explorer2sub:ect% such as- 6&hose bodiesL9% 6&hat counts as experienceL9 and 6&hat constitutes the exchange bet"een body and placeL9 +p.F,. Our particular ans"er is directed less to"ard 5uestions of )&hose bodiesL.% rather "e as % perhaps more basically% 6&hat inds of bodiesL9 and 6&hat is meant by the body2 sub:ect% and ho" is such a sub:ect constitutedL9 +@olls /0(/- =1E,. 4urther% "e as 6&hat is the relationship of this sub:ect to the "orldL9. 4or us% this involves a reorientation from socially sorted sub:ects% to consider% in the case of the ind of body2sub:ect "e find at "or in urban exploration literature% the 6forces that provide the bac drop to and are active in producing "hat comes to be understood as )a. sub:ect9 +@olls /0(/- =1<,. 3n Garrett.s auto2ethnographic accounts and video2ethnographies of the embodied practice of urban exploration% t"o +developing, ideas 2 edgework and the meld 2 ey us in to the terms upon "hich "e could begin to thin about the body2sub:ect at "or in urban exploration F

+Garrett /0((c> /0(/,. Edge"or is a multi2faceted term adapted from sociology and criminology% often used in discussion of phenomenological experiences of high ris activities but also applicable to more everyday practices "here normative behavior and routinised action are engaged "ith critically.E 3n Garrett.s "riting% edge"or is a bodily doing that sees individuals and collectives approaching various +material and immaterial, edges and boundaries. Aa ing form in physical challenges presented by literal features of urban architecture% or mental hurdles particular to the individual% these edges and boundaries may be exceeded and relocated% or% in another theoretical vocabulary deterritoriali;ed and reterritoriali;ed +Garrett /0(/> Garrett /0(1a,. Ahis territoriali;ation is a process "herein "e find the body2sub:ect not :ust open to forces and sensations in the environment% but composed through a relationship "ith them. Experimenting "ith this idea% Garrett deploys the meld% a term "ith a very particular materiality% "herein the identity trappings of the socially2constructed sub:ect fall a"ay as a result of the exploring sub:ect.s absorptive focus on their embodied actions and experiences% "hatever and "herever these may be. #ramatic descriptions of becoming bodies in the midst of action aside% "hat these accounts configure is a ind of corporeal morphology> a "ay of negotiating bodily boundaries that has productive resonances "ith the body2city relations Gros; proposes6D model of relations bet"een bodies and cities "hich sees them not as megalithic total entities% distinct identities% but as assemblages or collections of parts% capable of crossing the thresholds bet"een substances to form lin ages% machines% provisional and often temporary sub2 or
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Ahe term 6edge"or 9 "as first used by Stephen Lyng% "ho adapted it from !unter S. Ahompson +(<FF- 1=M,% to discuss the ris 2ta ing activities of s ydivers. Lyng.s "or "as challenged and augmented by feminist scholars and the result is a more comprehensive 6body of literature9 +see Lyng (<<0> Lios /00(> Olstead /0(( for example,% though these discussions still have not been engaged through the particular critical lens "e offer here.

microgroupingsNa fundamentally disunified series of interconnections% a series of disparate flo"s% energies% events or entities% and spaces% brought together or dra"n apart in more or less temporary alignments9 +(<</- /=M,. Such disunified interconnections and temporary alignments are indeed reached to"ard in some urban exploration literatures% presenting us "ith interrogations of body2sub:ects that are% in Gros;.s terms 6less interested in the 5uestion of the cultural construction of sub:ectivity than in the materials out of "hich such a construction is forged9 +(<<=- (M,. Ahese are body2sub:ects 6engage7d8 in :oint body2practices of becoming9 +Ahrift (<<E- (=/,> the adrenaline rushes% the pumping endorphins% and the sore% cut and bleeding bodies% and even in the testosterone and intoxicants that fuel some of these activities in more uncomfortable "ays% bring to the fore biological and chemical bodies> energy and matter in a constant state of composition. Ao consider these bodies is to ta e account of the role of not :ust the personal% but also the impersonal and interpersonal forces that compose sub:ects6Ninhuman forces% forces that are both living and non2living% macroscopic and microscopic% above and belo" the level of the human are ac no"ledged and allo"ed to displace the centrality of both consciousness and unconsciousness9 +Gros; /00?- (M<2(<0,. Ao engage "ith ethnographic accounts of urban exploration and their emphasis on materialities and corporealities is to attune us to 6life that occurs before and alongside the formation of human sub:ectivity% across human and non2human materialities and in between distinctions bet"een body and soul9 +Dnderson and !arrison /0(0- (1,. Ahe social in these terms 6is a "eaving of

material bodies that can never be cleanly or clearly cleaved into a set of named% no"n and represented identities9 +ibid.,. 3n Braidotti.s "ords6Ahe body refers to the materialist but also vitalist groundings of human sub:ectivity and to the specifically human capacity to be both grounded and to flo" and thus to transcend the very variablesOclass% race% sex% gender% age% disabilityO"hich structure us. 3t rests on a post2 identitarian vie" of "hat constitutes a sub:ect9 +/0(/- 11,. Ahis is not then to see recourse to some sort of biological essentialism% or to deny that these forms of body2sub:ect put much at ris "hen they see to escape categorical fixes% proposing 6a more open% multiple% intangible and affective understanding of sub:ectivities9 +Jacobs and *ash /001- /1?,. Ahe ris % articulated by 'ott and $oberts% is one of 6unintentionally reinstating the unmar ed% disembodied% but implicitly masculine sub:ect9 +Jacobs and *ash /001- /1?,. 4urthermore% any theoretical frame"or that "ould enable% for example% aggressive sho"s of masculism that% as 'ott and $oberts. demonstrate% do exist in the urban exploration community% to go unremar ed and unchallenged is clearly not acceptable. Ahat the emphasis on practical% lived experience% and the pre2personal might lead to the centering of a sub:ect 6shorn of social difference9% is not a ne" charge- humanistic geographies and non2representational theories have both faced similar accusations +Dnderson and !arrison /0(0- (1> also see *ash /000> Saldahana% /00?> Aolia2Kelly /00F,. Ds urban exploration literatures inevitably mature% one of the ey 5uestions should surely be not to disregard collective inscriptions such as gender% but rather to loo to ho" feminists% post2colonial scholars and 5ueer theorists have sought to 5uery ho" it is that the durabilities of orderings% such as race or gender emerge from the heterogeneous elements that compose them. <

!o" sexed difference% for example% becomes a 5uestion of exploring 6the complex yet concrete materialities immersed in social relations of po"er9 +Braidotti /0(/- /(,% these obdurate categories coming to be understood as assemblages 6formed from "ithin heterogeneous materialities of bodies% technologies and places9 +Dnderson and !arrison /0(0- (M,. Ao engage "ith this idea further% and find a footing% albeit tentatively% for a politics and an ethics that "ould propagate from this understanding of the body2sub:ects of urban exploration "e "ant to turn to consider some of the images that urban explorers create. Affecti(e 'olitic" of the )i"u&l# %iru *im Urban explorer and artist 'iru Kim a high2profile interlocutor bet"een urban exploration and theorists of the aesthetics and critical social theori;ation of ruins +!a" ins /0(0a> !ell and SchHnle /0(0,.M Kim.s photography pivots around her deployment of her female form% often nude% "ithin the lexicon of sites favored by urban explorers in cities around the "orld 2 from *e" Por .s sub"ays to London se"ers to the ruins of 3stanbul. &e do not have the space here to conduct a full analysis of Kim.s photographic "or % and fully agree "ith 'ott and $oberts. observation of the need for a 6sustained critical treatment of the range of visual images produced by urban explorers9 +p.=,% not least because of the need to appreciate these images as rather more complex than 'ott and $oberts. reductive description of them as 6invariably in a con5uering or heroic mode9 +p.((, "ould allo". &hile such posturing is common% "e "ould assert that there are varied visualities of urban exploration that can act as important sites for the production of urban exploration politics.
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See Kim.s AE# tal - http-CC""".ted.comCtal sCmiruQ imQsQundergroundQart.html +last accessed (< September /0(1,. See also her "ebsite for examples of her images- http-CC""".miru im.comCstatement*a ed@itySpleen.php +last accessed (< September /0(1,.

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Kim.s compositions frame both the formal properties and teeming organic and inorganic materialities of her sites. Ahrough her particular aesthetic sensibilities% especially in her use and manipulation of chiaroscuro 2 the play of +natural and imported, light and dar at the sites 2 her "or resonates "ith the visual regimes consciously or unconsciously adopted by many other urban explorers.< 3n Kim.s case her body becomes the physical means through "hich the exploration of the materialities of the site are enabled% as "ith most +clothed, explorer2bodies% but it is also the device by "hich these materialities are framed for the vie"er.(0 *ot unproblematically% the artist.s folded% perched% extended and crouching body explores a corporeal morphology that situates the body as a form amongst forms% a composition of matter amidst matter. 4or those 5uic to dismiss Kim.s portraiture as a rather literal example of the centuries old genre of 6ruin porn9 +Leary /0((,% the complexities of Kim.s deployment of her nude form is also an artistic device that frames body2sub:ectCplace relations. 3n a characteristically lyrical passage% Kim articulates her approach to body2city relations thus6Exploring industrial ruins and structures made me loo at the city as one living organism. 3 started to feel not only the s in of the city% but also to penetrate the inner layers of its intestines and veins% "hich s"arm "ith miniscule life forms. Ahese spacesOabandoned sub"ay stations%

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Urban exploration is a variegated field of visual practitioners% some li e Kim are professional artists% others are very s illed amateur photographers% "hile a large number ta e images for informational survey or evidentiary purposes- 6pics or it didn.t happen9 is a common phrase +see Garrett and !a" ins forthcoming,. (0 Ds survey collections such as Jones and &arr +/0(/, ma e clear% female artists use of their nude form I "hether as image2ma ers or as performance practitioners I has a long legacy and one that has been used to a number of different critical ends. 'ost relevant here are investigations of identity and materiality in relation to 5uestions of landscape and environment and in the context of ideas around urban space and the )proper. occupation of that space +Best /0((> Jones /0(/> see !a" ins /0(0b> /0(1 for discussions in relation to geography,.

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tunnels% se"ers% catacombs% factories% hospitals% and shipyardsOform the subconscious of the city% "here collective memories and dreams reside.9(( Ahere are clear resonances here bet"een the possibilities of the psychoanalytic discussions that 'ott and $oberts signal% the metabolic urbanisms common to contemporary 'arxist urban ecologies% and the urban body2politic of Gros; and others discussed above. &hat "e can find in the visual regimes of Kim.s images is% "e "ould argue% a set of productive sub:ect2 environmental relations "ith a politics rather different than those of the 6hero shot9% the overvie" image% or the body2mar ing2place landscape image% all of "hich can be traced from earlier modes of colonial exploration into contemporary urban exploration imagery +#omosh (<<(> Bratt (<</> Pusoff /00?> Garrett /0(1a,. Ahe body2environment relations of Kim.s visual regimes stand% "e "ould argue% in productive contrast to% indeed are perhaps even disruptive of% other visual regimes of the urban that "ould locate Kim.s body rather differently. &e are thin ing principally here of the casting of the modern surveillance city as another omniscient and omnipresent incidence of the masculine ga;e or the god.s eye vie" +Butnam (<<0> K"on /00/> Baglen /0(0> Graham /0((> &ei;man /0(/,. Ds such% Kim.s "or can be situated in the context of a range of scholarship and aesthetic practices that often implicitly mobili;e feminist body2place pro:ects to intervene "ithin% and sometimes to transform% the spaces and practices of the surveilled city. 4or Kim% the relationship bet"een her chosen sites and her mode of entry to them I by subverting the surveillance systems +"hat Garrett terms place hac ing, is ey to her practice. She elaborates-

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http-CC""".miru im.comCstatement*a ed@itySpleen.php +last accessed (< September /0(1,.

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6Experiencing feelings of alienation and anxiety in the city I a city that has increasingly become more surveilled and commodified I 3 began to understand ho" many artists and authors suffered from severe bouts of depression% inertia% and isolation...One of the "ays 3 escaped such feelings "as to visit desolate and hidden places in the city. Every time 3 stepped out of the ordinary aboveground spaces that "ere filled "ith anonymous cro"ds% 3 felt regenerated and unrestrained.9(/ 3n finding spaces "ithin the city that free her from particular forms of surveillance% modes of practice and bodily consciousnesses% Kim echoes sentiments common to the explorer community and to a raft of feminist scholars "ho have sought to complicate the city as a space of danger and fear +&ilson (<<1> England and Simon /0(0,. Kim also finds resonance "ith ruin scholars such as Edensor% for "hom such spaces are locations "here people can 6escape the strait:ac et of self2 consciousness% "here no evident rules pertain about "hat can be done and there are opportunities to engage in playful% creative and sensual practices9 +/00F- /1=,. Ahis is not unproblematic% for "e should not% as 'ott and $oberts. ma e clear% overloo the degree to "hich "hat might be creative spaces and spaces of free2play for some% are for others spaces to "hich access is challenging or comes at a greater cost. &e "ould agree that future research on urban exploration "ould do "ell to open out these 5uestions% but suggest that one "ay of doing so is to begin from situated studies of those heterogeneous assemblages of bodies% technologies and places I Gros;.s collections of parts I constituted "ithin the social relations of po"er. 3n asserting Kim.s artistically produced images% as indeed "e "ould do myriad forms of urban exploration imagery% as a site for the potential production of a politics of urban exploration% "e urge an examination of both the representational and the affective force of these
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http-CC""".miru im.comCstatement*a ed@itySpleen.php +last accessed (< September /0(1,.

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images. 3n Brescott.s +/0((, paper% referenced by 'ott and $oberts% "e find an interesting re2 appropriation of urban exploration imagery of ruined +often no" demolished, hospitals that "or s along these lines. Brescott% lin ing the medicali;ation of the birthing process "ith theories of ruination% explores ho" urban exploration imagery offers a source of alternative sub:ect positions for "omen "hose birthing experiences in these spaces had been traumatic or even left in )ruins. by the institutionali;ed birthing practices. &e "ould suggest Brescott.s analysis% li e Kim.s images% form stepping stones to"ard a politics of urban exploration imagery that is based not in actually being there% on doing exploration% but in the imaginative spaces these images open out. Ahis is a politics of urban exploration that lies in both "hat these images picture% but also ho" they picture% ho" they do )"or . as images after the shutter clic . &e are interested in "hat Latham and 'c@ormac +/00<- /?1, describe as 6an affective intensity- they 7images8 ma e sense not :ust because "e ta e time to figure out "hat they signify% but also because their pre2 signifying affective materiality is felt in bodies9. Elaborating% they suggest images have the capacity to 6Nproduc7e8 a certain affective resonance bet"een somatic% visual% sonic and semantic rhythms% "ithout necessarily reducing these to the terms of an interpretive narrative9 +/00<- /F0,. Such dimensions are important "e believe for understanding the politics of the imaginative space that these photographs open up> as much everyday as it is spectacular. Ahis is a politics based less in the proposition of spatial and social prescriptions for exploration% but rather one based in ho" these images demonstrate possibilities for re:igging the given% ho" they both picture and are 6spaces that provide lures to feeling% ne" po"ers to force thin ing and invention9 +Ahrift /0(0- (1<,. Ahere is the potential here for a )picturing. of relationships bet"een body and environment that% often "or ing beyond the intentionality of the photographer% asserts less the

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particularities and more the very possibility of inhabiting% or occupying urban space beyond% beside and "ithin forms presented to us for )appropriate. use. Conclu"ion# Tow&rd" &n Affirm&ti(e Criti+ue of ,rb&n Explor&tion &e "ould li e once more to reiterate our than s to 'ott and $oberts for opening out an important set of 5uestions around the politics of urban exploration. Ahis is valuable "or that raises crucial issues at a time "hen the nascent geographical "or on urban exploration is gathering pace. &hile "e ta e a number of their points% "e are perhaps not in total agreement on ho" to approach a critical engagement "ith the practice. &e "ould argue% as "e have hopefully demonstrated% that there are multiple "ays in "hich one might be able to thin through a politics for urban exploration that attends to difference. Ahrough a re2visiting of ethnographic accounts of urban exploration and a discussion of the possibilities and affective capacities of the imagery that urban explorers produce% "e have sought to ac no"ledge other routes by "hich 5uestions of difference in exploration might be pursued. 3n doing so% "e identify t"o sites of politics that% "hilst they might be based in a different understanding of difference than these engaged "ith by 'ott and $oberts% "e nevertheless believe do offer productive points from "hich to move for"ard "ith thin ing about urban exploration as a political practice. 'a ing room for a fruitful feminist criti5ue that begins less from 5uestions of 6cultural construction of sub:ectivity than in the materials out of "hich such a construction is forged9 +Gros; (<<=- (M, "e are re5uired to return to the 5uestion of "hat constitutes a body. By thin ing through body2sub:ects and spaces in terms of forces and matter that are both constitutive and excessive of representational thresholds% "e "ant to encourage a politics and ethics that propagates from the diverse sensibilities of embodiment that are brought about "hen "e ac no"ledge the human sub:ect as emergent from a 6connective multiplicity of (?

non2human and in2human forces and processes that exceed this corporeality in extensive% intensive% temporal and ontogenetic "ays9 +'c@ormac /001- =M<,. Our argument is not% "e "ish to reiterate% one that see s to sap% overloo or bypass 5uestions of social difference% nor is it one that "ould enable aggressive masculinities and exclusionary behaviors of any form to go critically unremar ed. 3nstead% "e suggest an important future direction for urban exploration research is one that follo"s the lead of feminists% 5ueer theorists% and non2representational scholars% "ho engage the corporeal material pro:ect of Gros;% 3rigaray and others +as "ell as the related molecular imaginaries of #eleu;e and Guattari, to as ho" it is that these heterogeneous matters and forces come to compose durabilities of orderings such as race and gender. Ahis% "e believe% is a crucial 5uestion if the ideas of matter% force% affective circulations and the body2sub:ect "e present here% are to reali;e their possible politics. So% "here 'ott and $oberts suggest that the 6supposedly progressive politics founded on embodied experiential encounters "ith hidden urban spaces founders 7sic8 on its failure to recogni;e difference9 +p. F,% "e agree% but argue that "ithin the particular pro:ect of social difference they outline there is room to be made for different forms of difference. 3n sum% if the crux of 'ott and $obert.s paper is that the political potentialities of urban exploration are disarmed by instances of masculinism in the community and a failure of commentators to ta e this seriously% then "e ta e half that point. &e are grateful for this intervention because "e also ac no"ledge the importance of ma ing space for difference +ho"ever it is understood,. 3ndeed% the conversations their paper spar ed bet"een us% and "ithin the community% proved a useful prompt to reflect collectively on "hat "or has been done and could be done to combat marginalisation and alienation. &e depart% ho"ever% in the assumption made that a politics of urban exploration "ill necessarily fall short if it does not begin from sub:ects cleaved into social categories. Aheir paper prompted us to return to ethnographic (F

materials% and to academic and popular accounts of urban exploration to interrogate% "ith perhaps greater vigilance than before% "hat forms of body2sub:ect are found there. Ahe results "ere hopefully illuminating% raising "hat "e believe are critical concerns for ho" it is "e understand urban exploration and connected political interventions into space. October 2013 $eference" Dnderson B and !arrison B +/0(0, Ahe promise of non2representational theories. 3n B Dnderson and B !arrison +eds, Taking-Place !on-"epresentational Theories and #eography +pp(2 1=,. London- Dshgate Bennett L +/0((a, Bun erology- D case study in the theory and practice of urban exploration. $nvironment and Planning % &ociety and &pace /<-=/(2=1= Bennett L +/0((b, Exploring the bun er- D response by Lu e Bennett to )Shallo" excavation.. (0 June http-CCsocietyandspace.comC/0((C0FC(0Cexploring2the2bun er2a2response2by2 lu e2bennett2to2Rshallo"2excavationRC +last accessed (( *ovember /0(1, Bennett L +/0(1a, &ho goes thereL Dccounting for gender in the urge to explore abandoned military bun ers. #ender' Place and ()lt)re /0+?,-F102F=F Bennett L +/0(1b, @oncrete multivalence- Bractising representation in bun erology. $nvironment and Planning % &ociety and &pace 1(-?0/2?/( Best S +/0((, *is)alising +eeling Affect and the +eminine Avant-#arde. London- 3.B. Aaurus Braidotti $ +/0(/, 3ntervie" "ith $osi Braidotti. 3n $ #olphi:n and 3 van der Auin +eds, !ew

(E

,aterialisms -nterviews and (artographies +pp(<21M,. Dnn Drbor- Open !umanities Bress @olls $ +/0(/, 4eminism% bodily difference% and non2representational geographies. Transactions of the -nstit)te of .ritish #eographers !& 1E+1,-=102==? @raggs $% Geoghegan ! and *eate ! +/0(1, Drchitectural enthusiasm- Gisiting buildings "ith the A"entieth @entury Society. $nvironment and Planning % &ociety and &pace 1(+?,-ME<2M<F #obras;c;y B +/00?, Se"ers% "ood engraving% and the sublime- Bicturing London.s main drainage system in the 3llustrated London *e"s% (M?<2F/. *ictorian Periodicals "eview 1M-1=<21EM #omosh ' +(<<(, Ao"ards a feminist historiography of geography. Transactions of the -nstit)te of .ritish #eographers !& (F+(,-<?2(0= Edensor A +/00F, Social practices% sensual excess% and aesthetic transgression in industrial ruins. 3n K 4ran and S Stevens +eds, /oose &pace Opport)nities for P)blic /ife0 London$outledge England ' $ and Simon S +/0(0, Scary cities- Urban geographies of fear% difference% and belonging. &ocial and ()lt)ral #eography ((+1,-/0(2/0E Garrett B L +/0(0, Urban explorers- Suests for myth% mystery and meaning. #eography (ompass =+(0,-(==M2(=F( Garrett B L +/0((a, Dssaying history- @reating temporal :unctions through urban exploration. $nvironment and Planning % &ociety and &pace /<-(0=M2(0FE Garrett B L +/0((b, @rac ing the Baris carriTres- @orporal terror and illicit encounter under the @ity of Light. Acme An -nternational $-1o)rnal for (ritical #eographies (0-/F<2/EE Garrett B L +/0((c, 6Blace !ac ing- Aales of Urban Exploration.9 Unpublished Bh# thesis% (M

$oyal !ollo"ay% University of London Garrett B L +/0((d, Shallo" excavation- D response to )Bun erology.. (0 June http-CCsocietyandspace.comC/0((C0FC(0Cshallo"2excavation2a2response2to2bun erology2 by2bradley2l2garrettC +last accessed (( *ovember /0(1, Garrett B L +/0(/, Edge"or - Getting close% getting cut% getting out. 3n Ahe State +eds, The &tate' *ol0 -- &pec)lative #eographies0 #ubai- Ahe State Garrett B L +/0(1a, $2plore $verything Place-3acking the (ity0 London- Gerso Garrett B L +/0(1b, Ahe affectual affordances of industrial urban exploration. 3n ! Orange and S Benrose +eds, "eanimating -nd)strial &paces0 &alnut @ree - Left @oast Bress Garrett B L +/0(1c, Underta ing recreational trespass- Urban exploration and infiltration. Transactions of the -nstit)te of .ritish #eographers !& #O3-(0.((((Ctran.(/00( Garrett B L and !a" ins ! +forthcoming, @reative video ethnographies- Gideo methodologies not methods. 3n @ Bates +ed, *ideo ,ethods0 Genos o G +/00<, 3llness as metonym- &riting urban exploration in infiltration. &pace and ()lt)re (/-F12E? Graham S +/0((, (ities 4nder &iege The !ew ,ilitary 4rbanism. *e" Por - Gerso Gros; E +(<</, Bodies2@ities. 3n B @olomina and J Bloomer +eds, &e2)ality and &pace. +pp/=(2 /?=,. Boston- Brinceton Drchitectural Bress Gros; E +(<<=, *olatile .odies Toward a (orporeal +eminism0 Bloomington- 3ndiana University Bress Gros; E +/00?, Time Travels +eminism' !at)re' Power. Sydney- Dllen and Un"in !a" ins ! +/0(0a, Gisions of excess. Angelaki (?-(<21E !a" ins ! +/0(0b, @ollection as artistic practice- D politics of display. 5omen6s &t)dies 1<+F,-(2 /E (<

!a" ins ! +/0(1, +or (reative #eographies #eography' *is)al Arts' and the ,aking of 5orlds0 London- $outledge !ell J and SchHnle D +eds, +/0(0, ")ins of ,odernity0 %)rham- #u e University Bress !igh S and Le"is # & +/00E, (orporate 5asteland0 3thaca- @ornell University Bress Jacobs J and *ash @ +/001, Aoo little% too much- @ultural feminist geographies. #ender' Place and ()lt)re (0-/F?2/E< Jones D +/0(/, &eeing %ifferently A 3istory and Theory of -dentification and the *is)al Arts. London- $outledge Jones D and &arr A +/0(/, The Artist6s .ody. London- Bhaidon K"on ' B +/00/, 4eminist visualisation- $e2envisioning G3S as a method in feminist geographic research. Annals of the Association of American #eographers </+=,-F=?2FF( Latham D and 'c@ormac # B +/00<, Ahin ing "ith images in non2representational citiesGignettes from Berlin. Area =(+1,-/?/2/F/ Leary J B +/0((, #etroitism. #)ernica (? January http-CC""".guernicamag.comCfeaturesClearyQ(Q(?Q((C +last accessed (( *ovember /0(1, Lios J +/00(, Bea s and valleys- Ahe gendered emotional culture of edge"or . #ender and &ociety (?-1M(2=0F Lyng S +(<<0, Edge"or - D social psychological analysis of voluntary ris ta ing. American 1o)rnal of &ociology <?-M?(2MMF 'addrell D +/00<, (omple2 /ocations 5omen6s #eographical 5ork in the 47. Oxford- &iley Blac "ell 'c@ormac # +/001, Dn event of geographical ethics in spaces of affect. Transactions of the -nstit)te of .ritish #eographers !& /M+=,-=MM2?0E 'ott @ and $oberts S ' +/0(1, *ot everyone has +the, balls- Urban exploration and the /0

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