Covert: A Handbook

'Covert' responds to three converging afflictions in society: our growing fixation with spending time looking at a screen the proportion of our lives we spend sitting/lying down, as a result the invasion of our privacy in the digital age To address these challenges (amplified in the Covid-19 pandemic) this handbook compiles 30 'movement meditations' that encourage readers to put down their phones and tablets to reclaim both an active and contemplative lifestyle, one that is highly integrated with, and inspired by, our surroundings. 'Covert' joins-up inner reflection, subtle physical play and public space to suggest ways of resisting invasion and activating the self in an era of sedentary screen time and surveillance. Using 30 carefully crafted 'movement meditations' - each with an accompanying photo to explain it - Covert outlines a straightforward, embodied practice that we can use to defend and preserve ourselves in the everyday world against the intrusion of digital media and the surveillance state. The 'Covert' practice is a way to diminish the lure of the screens, sidestep invasive scrutiny, and nurture the dialogue between our conscious and unconscious selves. By prioritizing introspective interactions with the quirky and complex world around us, 'Covert' shows that we have the means to cultivate our interior and imaginative selves through a dynamic, physical engagement with the wider world.