informal urban practices

Marker trading

Major Project

With the developing of the city, people’s living tends to a fast-paced. The urban and life become much more heaviness than before. Why not just disburden yourself a moment, lie down (maybe hanging) your body, release your mind and bask in the sun?What I want to do is create a space for people to release themselves and re-inhabit this space of forgetting; infuse energy into the city. It can be a spider web, birder’s nest or net crossing two buildings.

What the location I’m interest in is the alleyway, actually I am considering not only the road, but also the whole space between two buildings; usually people use that space as a car park, garbage dump or just leave that. Why not utilize that space?

By  Jiazhen Ken Chen

Images and keywords of interest for Informal Urban Practices which were influenced by examples from various parts of the world were shown on business cards and hung with rope from my wrist for easy mobility. These were exchanged amongh students for lollies, cookies, tea, other cards and interests/ stories.

First stop was the underground station at Degreves Street where things were slow with little flow of people. As we moved to Federation Square and the graffiti walls off Flinder Lane things became more productive despite the poor weather conditions.

In doing this I was able to find others with the same interests therefore, creating a group for my project.

My major project direction will be a collaboration of many interests within the group T.H. Individually I am interested in the structure of a gallery space and how people will interact with that structure. The structure itself would ‘grow and move’ as vistors interact with it. Sustainability and the use of recycled materials are an important part of this project. The structure would become the artwork itself, be self-constructing, and create a transient experience. The use of time lapse photography is also an integral part to show how the ‘urban creature’ moves as well as acting as a gauge of additions and interactions.