The shopping mall is a caricature of the Greek agora, the classical space of democracy. It surrounds the citizens with an illusion of freedom of choice, while discouraging unpredictable behaviour, effectively turning them into passive consumers of their environment. Nevertheless, as other open and multifunctional spaces in the modern city are becoming obsolete, it may be the only site where public assembly still has a latent political significance.
Edited by Iratxe Jaio y Klaas van Gorkum and published by consonni, this publication is a collection of theoretical writings, quotes and memories related to the zombiewalks that occurred in Utrecht and Barakaldo. It contains texts written by, among others, the cinema critic Jordi Costa, the philosopher Jaime Cuenca Amigo, the director of The Showroom in London Emily Pethick, the artistic director in Fundación Tapies (Barcelona) Laurence Rassel, and a comic by Maaike Hartjes. The designer of the publication is Roger Teeuwen in collaboration with Nele Vos.
Saturday 19 April 2008. A day to never forget. Ominous moans and spine-chilling screams echoed between the highrises in Overvecht. Ghostly apparitions pushed their way through the neighborhood, leaving a trail of blood. Half human, half monster, it is clear that these beings must have crept out from the underworld, to roam the earth. Followed by the spooky orchestra Tegenwind, beguiling the onlookers with their haunting music.
During the city council elections of Rotterdam in 2010, six campaign billboards were clandestinely removed from public space, replaced with new ones, and mounted in a group show that examined the relationships between art and politics.
Neighbourhood residents were invited to join in a morbid parade that lead to the local shopping mall, where the participants, dressed up like bloodied corpses, would mingle with the startled customers, in a collective action between performance, dérive and street theatre.
Desde aquí hasta ahí (From here to there) is a video which explores the notion of home, within the context of the urban expansion of Vitoria-Gasteiz, the capital of Basque Country. It follows a group of young adults as they enter a new stage in their lives, such as during the purchase of a house, marriage, or the birth of a first child. These personal experiences are juxtaposed with the distant, god-like perspectives on the city, as seen by the civil servant, the politician, or the architect.
Depending on what you are after, choose an area, a more or less populous city, a more or less lively street. Build a house. Furnish it. Make the most of its decoration and surroundings. Choose the season and the time. Gather together the right people, the best records and drinks. Lighting and conversation must of course be appropriate, along with the weather and your memories. If your calculations are correct, you should find the outcome satisfying. Psychogeographical game published in POTLATCH 1, 22 June 1954
The production of home runs like a red thread through this publication, which is the printed counterpart to the exhibition “Meanwhile, in the Living Room... Sección Transversal”, in Centro Cultural Montehermoso. It combines the investigation of the artists Iratxe Jaio and Klaas van Gorkum into the urban expansion of Vitoria-Gasteiz with documentation of their final installation, and stills of their video ‘Desde aquí hasta ahí’.
