space

The seminar that’s not happening because.

Surveillant Architectures: Space Lab

“The sky’s an unusual colour
The weather is doing unusual things
And our leaders aren’t even pretending not to be demons
So where is the good heart to go but inwards?
Why not lock all the doors and bolt all the windows?
All I am are my doubts and suspicions
I against you against we against them”
(Kate Tempest, 2019)

Continuing from last semester’s live situative set-ups, we’ll look at space and its potentials for adventure, risk, unpredictability, proximity, intimacy and presence.

Taking into account the various understandings of the concept of distance that were brought about by worldwide realtime communication over the last 160 years, we’ll foreground central issues like accessibility, safety and security, and how to (re-)establish room for trust, play and maneuver.

What are the possible ways to query space, taking the role of the observer or the associate, the insider? 
As a praxis seminar, the focus is for the students to develop new methods and approaches, especially those that cross diverse media in a performative way.

This was to be the Summer term 2020 seminar, as planned in November 2019. The Kate Tempest quote about locking yourselves in worked out, especially for everyone who is currently in Coronavirus self-isolation. Making new plans now, will let you know asap.

Canary

“the deep strangeness of the present moment: everybody knows what’s going on, and nobody can do anything about it.”
James Bridle