Abstract
The subcultural practices of urban explorers are studied through an analysis of the accomplishments of Canadian Jeff Chapman. Using his zine Infiltration as a resource, this essay considers his key sites of exploration, two active downtown Toronto hospitals, not only from the viewpoint of his experiences at both as a patient but also as ur-sites for exploration and an original rethinking of the city. Chapman's illness is metonymic, not metaphoric, and this informs his style of urban exploration. While situating Chapman's investigations in terms of driftworks, surrealist strolls, situationist perambulations, and De Certeau's counter-panoptic walks, the nontheoretical character of Chapman's ethico-aesthetic preoccupations is allowed to shine through in his homespun nonmastery of exploration and displays of personal courage as he rambled around closed hospital wings in his gown along with his intravenous pole.
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