Ebbing

Ebbing: A Primer for Becoming a Fluid Body is a historical walking performance for one, a game manual, a poetry sequence and a speculative fiction. Using light roleplay mechanics, Ebbing invites readers to leave their homes and walk in nature. One’s own waterways become the stage for an exploration of the Clitterhouse Brook, a tributary of the River Brent in North West London. The book is part of a community-centred research project investigating the conflicting velocities of change in the area; the rapid redevelopment and gentrification of the area through the Brent Cross Town construction, and the slower community developement centred around the Clitterhouse Farm Project.

Using a choose-your-own-adventure format, the text can be read in several different orders, reflecting the meandering nature of the waterways, and the multiplicity of uncertain futures of the local community. 

Orbiting a reverential unearthing of the area’s topology, and a gently playful look at the future, Ebbing aims to give readers an insight into semi-suburban creep and the shifting landscape of urban growth. 

Written and produced as a printed book, however the full text can be read below: