BA INTERIO R & S PATIA L DESIG N
BAR BICAN CENTR E , LO NDO N
STUDENT: AMINATA FA LL ID: FA L16485459
U NIT 6: SOFT ROCK (2 0 2 0 G RAD UATIO N R EVIS ED EDITIO N )
SOFT ROCK/ CAT’S CRADLE
2 019/2 0 2 0
ABOUT
CAGES & ENCLOSURES
Soft Rock is an installation concept located at the Barbican Centre, specifically exploring the theme of ‘body architecture’, and the ways in which we as humans experience spatial awareness in relation to our physical movements. Initially, the term “soft rock” didn’t make much sense to me until I had revisited the project in 2020 for a re-imagined, updated take on the space. I realised that for me, ‘soft rock’ and ‘body architecture’ are in some ways the same thing. The human body itself is both extremely fragile and incredibly strong when it needs to be. “Soft Rock” is an oxymoron - it contradicts itself, yet makes a ton of sense when approaching at it from the angle of human anatomy and also linguistics. The idea of exploring this title and translating it into a juxtaposition in the form of a design began to intrigue me and i decided to evaulate my surroundings by visiting the site and assessing the ways it made me feel spacially. Upon arrival, I was greeted with the famously brutalist architecture that made me feel almost enclosed and entirely surrounded in cement. The space at foot-level was extremely spaced out and serene. I was looking at the water, and the ways in which people seemed to gravitate towards it. I felt both free and trapped at the same time in the best way. The space around me felt calm.
2
I began my research in cages, enclosures and the theme of entrapment. I experimented with model-making, CAD modelling and reading about various artists that have worked with rope and strings. One artist in particular that stood out to me was Chiharu Shiota. Images above: sketches of body enclosures and cages with incorporation rope and string.
TATE EXCHANGE ‘19
I expressed my interest in working with lines placed erratically in neat boxes at the 2019 Tate Exchange by plastering the floor with vibrant yellow tape, encouraging guests and students to step inside, around and experience a different sort of spatial awareness when walking & looking down.
body architecture; weaving movements into the barbican
PREVIOUS 2018/19 CONCEPT
UPDATED 2020 CONCEPT
From entrapment to entanglement. My focus had shifted slightly, once I realised that I wanted to make this project bigger - over ten times bigger. Revisiting the project with fresh eyes after a year gave me the confidence to change what I had previously seen as ‘in my realm’ to larger-than-life social installations. I understood then that from that point forward, I became more ambitious with my designs in general, including the scale at which I worked at. I liked the idea of creating a figure of human hands tangled in rope, much like the classic child’s game ‘cat’s cradle’, except with the ropes tangled and arranged in a much more inconsistent manner. Referring back to my Tate Exchange piece, I switched the concept of looking down at your path as you walk to looking up at the situation in front of one’s eyes.
3
Barbican Water Gardens shown in dark blue
4
5
6
7
Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure Figure
[ii]
[iii]
[i]: Isometric diagram of the installation (facing north-west). [ii]: Plan view. [iii]: Bottom view of installation with measurements (cm). [iv]: CLoser view of hand models with knots of “string” around 6 of the fingers. [v]: Front view. [vi]: Close-up view of right-hand thumb. Steel carabiners are used to secure the installations on the water surface.
[i]
8
[iv]
[v]
[vi]
9
20 20
FAL16485459
SOFT ROCK
10