Exquisite Corps

The project asks people to draw an impression of their city. What noises would you rather not have? How can sounds – especially those that irritate – be better contained? Which places cause unnecessary, unpleasant imposition? What would you like to see more of? Or whatever rings in your ear when you think about “My City”.

For this project I adopted the surrealist game “exquisite corps”, a technique to collect and assemble in an arbitrary and accidental way. Each person was given an area on paper to add to the composition, in sequence, being allowed to see only the end of what the previous person drew. It was a very simple form of urban activism where creative people work in public space to express themselves but by doing so will create dialogues with other citizens. This project emphasizes citizen participation in the processes and developments in our city and giving them the tools to express and relate ideas. Let’s remember that at their core, cities are about, for, and by people. We can harness their ideas, energy, and expertise to create more livable places.

While at the beginning the project was no more than a roll of white paper in a furry box, it has grown to a collective drawing. Everybody could participate but nobody could guess the outcome. It was unpredictable!

Bauhaus University Weimar, dreiräume.6 summer exhibition, 2015