Much of the space in which we live is subject to constant change, which we are expected to accommodate and over which we have little direct control. Spatial change is frequently effected by an infrastructure of control of physical movement, most notably by steel ‘control’ barriers, near ubiquitous objects in our urban landscape. The body of work includes three repurposed steel crowd control barriers, integrating welded steel representations of patterns of movement before and during the public events. Barriers may carry multiple associations for us – they allude to restriction, control, appropriation and protest but also to safety and leisure. Repurposing the barriers and presenting then in an artistic context disrupts their original function and asks the viewer to consider them in more detail, the uses to which they are put and whether our (lack of) response to them is too complicit and accepting.
An insight into the development process.
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| Welding steel rods based on walking patterns |
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| Grinding welds for painting |
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| Spray painting |
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| Fixing welded sections to barriers |
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Finished work, repurposed crowd control barriers, galvanized steel, steel rods, acrylic paint, 2.3m x 1.0m (x3).
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| Layering of patterns in barriers |
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| Barriers in triangular layout |
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| Barriers in triangular layout |
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| Barriers front on |
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