COMMUNITY SPIRIT (2010)

The project took place in the UK, in Hackney Downs Park, London.  I wanted to do something simple and good, something that brings people together, fuels solidarity and a sense of belonging.

I thought of the most basic and instinctive way of bonding; sitting by the fire.  I decided to set up a small campfire in a local park, where people could come any time of day or night, warm up, talk or just look at the stars or the fire.

Due to Heath and Safety regulations, the council rejected the proposal but after further persuasions I was allowed to run the project on the condition that a fence is installed around the fire, all appropriate hazard warning signs are displayed and a fire fighter is present at the allocated, fenced and CCTV monitored premises at all times.

I followed the rules however still I was not allowed to light the fire due to London Fire Legislation (no open fire allowed).  The project resulted in a lonely and bored fireman staring at the hazard warning signs pinned to the fence, guarding some dead wood whilst monitored by CCTV.

Rather than a place of belonging, solidarity, faith and meditation the setting reflected  isolation, dead spirit, institutional control in the name of our own good. 

TUNNEL VISION (2010)

The aim was to build an architectural space, a maze of polyester corridors and blind avenues that would create both a space of transition and destination.

The design was based on the lines of my fingerprint reflecting ideas of fate and identity. I sought to create a place that is imaginary, metaphorical and mystical but at the same time would display its rudimentary assembly, crude physical construction, its human touch, faults and imperfections. A place of alternative perception where one could lose track of direction and of the outside world but maybe could find the sense of the self. Something spiritual set in industrial and artificial reality.

I thought of the labyrinth as a symbol of life that invites in, where intuition is required to move around but that can be comprehended and understood only from outside, from above, from far away.

To build the tunnels I employed five homeless migrant workers.

The first construction of the “Tunnel Vision” took place in the courtyard of the UCL Slade School of Arts in London.

The setting of the installation provided an embarrassing contrast of very often well to do middle class students watching drunk workers operating power tools.

The workers thought the whole idea of the tunnels was stupid. They could not understand the artistic extravagance of spending so much money, time and resources for something that will end up in the skip next week.

After three days, the workers got their first payment, got drunk and never came back to work. The project was abandoned.  It stood there amongst the classical sculptures and imperial buildings, annoying people and spoiling the landscape.