Massey (1994, 2005) defines place as process, as something that is open, not static. For Massey, place is…
…the sphere of a dynamic simultaneity, constantly disconnected by new arrivals, constantly waiting to be determined (and therefore always undetermined) by the construction of new relations. It is always being made and always therefore, in a sense, unfinished…
(Massey 2005:107)
To me, this has resonance with Hackney and the idea of ‘transience’ as proposed by HTAP—Hackney is a space filled with converging and diverging multi-linear narratives.
Conversely, Tuan (1977:6), writing from an earlier Humanistic perspective, likens space to movement and place to pauses—the pauses enable us to know place better and inscribe our own meanings and value onto it, to become ‘rooted’ in place and to develop a ‘sense of place’ (Tuan 1977:198).
Walking through the streets of Hackney one overhears snatches of people’s conversations, and can gain a momentary window into their lives. By using traditional letterpress, a very time consuming, laborious process, to visualise these narrative fragments the work attempts to ‘freeze-frame’ that moment, to pause within the process.
The use of typeface, size, colour and positioning draws the viewer into the recreated moment, enabling them to engage with the fragment of conversation and construct their own narrative about the situation or the speaker. The series as a whole also attempts to reflect the diverse nature of Hackney and its residents.
1 comment:
Hi Alison, my name is Gerry Byrne (LCC)I chatted to you today at the in/flux exhibition. You've really inspired me thank you and have gotten me excited about returning to uni...good luck with the exhibition..
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