DECONSTRUCTED TALES

Usually, my artistic practice happens in solitude. I act as an observer of the spaces I move through, paying attention to their visual narratives, landscapes, histories, cultural codes and atmospheres. Occasionally, I turn this private process into a participatory experience. My workshops are an invitation to step inside my head for a while and look at a familiar space through the lens of my artistic practice. We treat the street and the landscape as subjects for observation, while also paying attention to the observer: how our own memories, experiences, cultural background and habits of perception shape what we see. In other words, we explore our own psychotopography.

The concept

An inhabited space, be it city, town or village, is never a neutral setting; it is a palimpsest of historical layers, cultural signs and psychotopographic frequencies. In these sessions, we bypass conventional landmarks and focus on the incongruent, odd, meaningful or individually revealing objects and areas that might otherwise go unnoticed. I guide participants to observe not only the space around them, but also their own responses to it: the memories, associations, assumptions and emotions that shape what they notice and how they interpret it.

Through guided artistic prompts, we explore our subjective sensory experiences and find a visual language to express them. This is not an art class designed to produce decorative objects; we use pens and paper to capture the logic of what we find, both externally and within ourselves. The aim is to develop a more conscious relationship with our own perception: to notice the psychotopography that emerges between ourselves and the places we inhabit.

The formats

The workshops are adaptable to different spaces and environments, generally falling into two categories:

• Psychotopographic Walk: a guided walking act where we move from one abstract concept to another within urban space. Acting as observers of the neighbourhood's interior weather, participants disperse to sketch visual answers to specific quests for meaning (my artistic prompts). We pay attention to the things that catch our eye, the associations they trigger and the meanings we attach to them; noticing how our own perception alters the place we think we observe neutrally.
• Experiential Mapping: an analogue, seated workshop designed for small groups. We delve into the affective texture of the city (or town, or village) and map the subjective meanings we attach to its spaces. By examining personal routes, memories, associations and responses to specific sites, participants make visible the different psychotopographies that emerge within the same environment. The result is a physical map of a place as it is experienced, rather than what it looks like from geographical perspective.

Collaboration

These workshops are my artistic community work, generally offered free of charge. If a hosting venue or festival can provide art supplies, it is highly appreciated. There are no complex technical requirements; drawing and painting skills are not prerequisite to participation.

Upcoming dates

• 31 May 2026 – Heidelberg, Germany - Experiential Mapping workshop - registration is closed
• 4-5 July 2026 – Berlin, Germany - Deconstructed Neukölln: a Psychotopographic Walk. Part of the Neukölln 48 Stunden Festival - registration is closed

To discuss bringing a workshop to your venue or festival, please reach out via email alina@deconstructedtales.de.