Quinn Delany s3105624
:: urban practice in civil war
:: exploration of North melbourne I carried out an investigation of local town, North Melbourne to see what sorts of urban practices occur in our own city.
I investigated the effect of war on informal urban practice.
Results were fairly predictable - much activity characteristic of any cafe strip in Melbourne. Open-air dining, window shopping, dog walking and talking on the phone were some of the practices I witnessed. In pairs, we then speculated what would happen if we slightly changed an element of these activities. A major question that came up was that of public acceptance - What is ACCEPTABLE in public SPACE?
Leading into wartime, public space becomes aggressive - a place for people to speak their mind. During war time, people are often forced out of their homes and into public space. Urban practuce becomes less recreational and more associated with the simple act of survival. Private acts become public, and everyday practices such as eating and seeking medical treatment become communal activities.
:: INTERVENTION
:: OCCUPATION
In groups of 4 we staged a series of interventions in the public realm to see how people would react to unusual urban practice.
We staged an “urban fashion show” back in North Melbourne where we provided a commentary on the outfits of passersby. The idea was to activiely intervene and engage with passersby. Also to further define informal urban practice indicative of Nth Melbourne.
1. leaving a phone in public
We occupied at 7:30 on a Friday evening, and again at 10am Monday morning. Reactions were mostly good humoured and we gained a more obvious acknowledgement than with the interventions in Melbourne.
2. “ghosting”
We tested three different scenarios, with the most volunteered engagement from the general public happening when we wove a ball of string along Bourke Street, between Exhibition and Swanston Streets.
3. trail of string - bourke street
:: trading market day
:: interests and themes The trading market provided opportunity to share our discoveries and interests that we have developed over the first half of the semester. It also provided us a chance to stage our own informal practice as a group. Unfortunately not a lot of engagement with the public occured, however much engagment with my peers occured and I discovered I share many key interest areas with my peers. Hence I have decided to work within a group for my final project. The project is entitled “The Habitallery” and aims to create a projection gallery somewhere in Melbourne. It will encompass all of the key aims listed to the left.
Through the work so far, I have a few major themes emerging and areas of interest to look towards. In my final project I am working towards a few aims: ++ DIRECT CONNECTION AND ENGAGEMENT FROM THE PUBLIC WITH INTERVENTION ++ INVOKING SURPRISE OR REVELATION ++ CREATING A TRAIL AND CURIOSITY ++ CONNECTING PEOPLE - CREATING COMMUNITY ++ CREATING SOCIAL COMMENT ON SUSTAINABLE LIVING