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.
No comments:
Post a Comment