Intervention project analysis


This is a detailed analysis describing the process of work, which led to an art intervention project in the Elephant and Castle area. The project called “Elephant & Castle public space intervention” (temporary name) was collaboration between Patrick Tubridy and Aviv Ron and was conducted throughout September and December of 2006. The brief for this project was to construct and test a site-specific photographic project for the Elephant & Castle area. It challenges us to focus our imagery skills in response to the complexity of a specific urban space. It is also an opportunity to explore new direction of work in which we can practice as photographers.

The research for this project had to deal with number of aspects regarding the Elephant & Castle area and also the concept of art intervention projects. To understand the concept of art intervention in public spaces my initial research focused on artistic approach to space and site-specific projects.
Many artists deal with space as a platform for their creativity questioning our conception and understanding of it. Valie Export creates images by using the human body as an element within the environment to deal with social issues and power structures.

http://www.fotohof.or.at/exibhist/detail.cfm?id=7

Yayoi Kusama’s photos of herself dressed in traditional Japanese kimono walking the streets of New York reflect on her own difficult experience as an immigrant in a global world.

http://www.sammlung-goetz.de/content.php?lang=en&pn=exh&m=view&id=35&state=past

To understand site-specific project I looked at some projects, which were done in the past.
The “Dockland Community Poster Project” founded by Lorraine Leeson and Peter Dunn, in response to the proposed development of the Dockland area during the 1980s. (Similar to the current situation of the Elephant & castle area) The initial projects aims were to inform the local residents of the coming changes and illustrate the concerns of the local community from the development process. In response to the scale of the re-development proposal a steering committee for the project representing joint local action groups was created and funding was raised to support its actions.
Inspired by Chinese wall posters from the Cultural Revolution, artists working with trade unions were asked to design Photomurals and convey massages coming out of the steering group meetings.
Other aspects of this project were to photograph in details the existing area for documentation reasons and future references. Provide professional and artistic support for the locals in their protest against the developers and increase public awareness to the impact of the development on the local population. This project was conducted over ten years period and was considered, at that time, to be the biggest of its kind.

http://www.cspace.org.uk/cspace/archive/docklands/dock_arch.htm

A deferent kind of art intervention techniques can be seen in the works of Stephan Willets Tower Blocks projects. Willets develop workshops aiming at culturally deprived communities. These workshops, usually commitiond by the local art council, designed to encourage local residents to creatively reflect on their immediate space. In a tower block complex in Manchester, Willets conducted a three sessions project in which the local residents produced videos and posters installations to describe their own impressions from the area surrounded the tower block itself.

Another part of my research was to study the regeneration plan for the Elephant and Castle area. The plan includes changes to the clogged traffic system caused by the two existing roundabouts, replacing the dated shopping centre with a larger and bigger one, modernizing the old public transport facilities with the introduction of trams, creating open parks and demolishing the Heygate estate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_and_Castle

Our first visit to the area was a form of photographic drift. Instinctively we were drawn towards the Haygate estate, which is targeted for demolishing and represent all that is wrong with the area. The 1970s modernist building designed to maximise the space in term of living units and surrounded by green open spaces has lost its appeal long ago and today it considered a death trap. What interest me the most about this place was how dose the residents themselves feel about this environment.

To find out more about the Heygate residents real feelings about their home we decided to ask them. We incorporate the concept of posters and decided to hang theme inside the buildings to present the residents with an opportunity to write directly on theme and express their feelings about the space. In order to get the right response from the residents we designed the poster as a straightforward question asked by the building (the space) itself.
We tried to ask an open question for a variety of responses. We also tried to give the residents the opportunity to express their real emotions directly towards the building and not to a person. To create this effect we used an iconic image of the building from the front of the building and wrote the question above it (Tel Me! How do you feel about me?) and left plenty of white space for comments around the image.
For our first attempt we printed 4 posters in colour on to a photographic paper. We hanged the posters on several floors in block 1, directly opposite the elevator door to maximise the chances of it being seen by the residents. We supplied two colour felt tip pens with each poster and left them over night. At our first check up, less then 24 hours later, we discovered that three of the posters were gone however the one that was left hanged was completely full of comments, which suggested a real potential for this concept. The amount of comments in this short space of time and their tone reviled a real interest and also uncertainty about the future of the estate. Some comments such as “I like you I love you” showed a direct response towards the building but most of them were directed towards a third person, "The homes are lovely inside but terrible outside the designers should have been sacked after they finished the dirty job", "get the politicians to live here".

Encouraged by the results we printed 6 more posters, this time in black and white on to plain paper in the hope that the thieves will find this version less attractive. We hanged them in the remaining floors of block 1 together with colour pens and left them over the Sunday. This time we managed to collect all of them back and the amount and nature of comments were similar to the first one. However the visual effect was dramatically reduce because of the printed quality of the posters.

The comments on the Haygate Estate posters revealed a strong sense of weariness and uncertainties about the future of the Estate. It also showed us that people are eager to express their opinions about a subject that closely involves them and by providing them with right opportunity to express their feeling, they will do so. Based on these findings we decided to extend our project and try it out in a public space.

Second stage

The E & C Shopping Centre has also been targeted for demolition under the current regeneration plan. We realised that the population utilising this space are now facing a similar period of uncertainty as the residents of the Haygate Estate. The shops and stools owners having the biggest problem as the plan present a real threat to their business and livelihood. This plan can have a dramatic effect on the local community as well. There are a variety of nationalities within the local community. Many of the shops and Stools are owned by people from South America, Africa and Asia. These small businesses are socially important to the community because they give the shopping centre its multicultural character and create a familiar atmosphere to people with different nationalities.
We decided to create posters that will be relevant to all the people using the Shopping Centre and encourage them to comment on the situation. We had to designed new posters relevant to the existing space and its future. We gained permeation from the building manager to have the posters hanged for a week and he was keen to see the results himself and learn about the peoples needs. He also wanted to see theme in advance, which meant that we had to maintain a neutral connotation to them.
We designed three posters, which were accepted by the building manager and printed two of each. We used similar technique as the one in Haygate, combining iconic images of the space, this time, with questions about the regeneration future of the building and its inhabitants. On Monday 6th of November they were hanged, including three colour pens each, near every entrance to the building. The results were quite different this time. The speed of responses was slower, it took three days for the first comments to arrive and they mainly regarded specific technical issues such as better toilets facilities and more cleaners. Towards the end of the week more writing have been done with a lot of graffiti style comments. By Friday 10th of November the posters were covered in comments and we replaced five of theme. These five new posters had similar images but the questions were different. We hoped to get wider variety of comments by asking deferent questions and at 10am Monday the 13th of November we removed all of theme.

Our attempt to analyse the comments proved to be problematic. The variety of people using this spaces made it impossible to know who wrote what, therefore we cannot learn exactly what kind of issue is important to each one of the sectors. It is also irresponsible to make any kind of general statements about the area or the regeneration plan from these comments. However the responses to the poster from the Haygate estate were more personal and expressed grater concern about the currant state of the space and its future, which might be related to the way people feel towards a space, which is also their home.

Regarding the conceptual aspect of art intervention in a public space, these posters provided a space, within a space, in which individuals can leave their mark on and directly affect the visual aspect and the meaning of it. They directly reflect on, if not affecting, the space where they are located. The posters also provided a platform for the unknown parts of the population to voice their opinions. As an item these posters are a public expression about the space, they describe an emotional range and capture a moment in the history of the Elephant & Castle. They can be used as souvenirs and a memory from a time just before the area have changed.
Although the posters are a space for intervention we cannot conclude that our project caused any change to the space or the people. However every action is in itself part of a process and can cause further actions directly or indirectly. By applying our artistic skills to deal with special and sociological issues we expand our reach and actively participating in the process of shaping our culture.

SECOND STAGE



The comments on the Haygate Estate posters revealed a strong sense of weariness and uncertainties about the future of the Estate. It also showed to us that people are eager to express their opinions about a subject that closely involves them and by providing them with right opportunity to express their feeling, they will do so. Based on these findings we decided to extend our project and try it out in a public space.

The E & C Shopping Centre has been targeted for demolition under the current regeneration plan. We realised that the population utilising this space are now facing a similar period of uncertainty as the residents of the Haygate Estate. The shops and stools owners having the biggest problem as the plan present a real threat to their business and livelihood. This plan can have a dramatic effect on the local community as well. There are a variety of nationalities within the local community and many of the shops and Stools are owned by people from South America, Africa and Asia. These small businesses are socially important to the community because they give the shopping centre its multicultural character and create a familiar atmosphere to people with different nationalities.
We decided to create posters that will be relevant to all the people using the Shopping Centre and encourage them to comment on the situation. We designed the posters by combining images of the building and questions relevant to the existing space and its future. We gained permeation from the building manager to have the posters hanged for a week and he was keen to see the results himself and learn about the peoples needs. He also wanted to see theme in advance, which meant that we had to maintain a neutral connotation to the posters.
We designed three posters, which were accepted by the building manager and printed two of each. On Monday 6th of November they were hanged, including three colour pens each, near every entrance to the building. By Friday 10th of November the posters were covered in comments and we replaced five of theme. These five new posters had similar images but difrent questions in order to recieve a wider variety of comments. At 10am Monday the 13th of November we removed all of theme.

First set







second set

personal comment


My initial response to the posters result was overwhelming. I was amazed by the speed that the residents reacted to them and the sincerity of the comments. Some of the comments were directed towards the building for example: "Too sad you are going to be demolished", "I love you, You need more work and you look old". It is as if the building has a personality and the residents are communicating directly to him and don't want to hurt its feelings.

Some comments were directed towards a third body: "The homes are lovely inside but terrible outside the designers should have been sacked after they finished the dirty job", "get the polititians to live here". I think most comments were written in this structure. Maybe it is because the redevelopment issue is so hot and on everyone's mind, people want to influence some decision makers by voicing their opinions about the estate and the social issues surrounding it. Or maybe it is more
natural to answer to a person asking a question rather to a building or an object. However, all of the comments, I believe, come from people who live in the estate, this is their home they are talking about and its very personal.

Some of the responses were racesist and abusive but I feel that it represents a reality which is probably common within all types of social housing estates.

first results:

The first time we printed and hung 4 colour posters on a shiny photographic paper.
We left them overnight and the day after we came back to find only one poster. But the results were promising.




After that we decided to try a different material for the posters. In order to minimize the attraction of the poster as an item, and maybe get more of them back, we used plain paper and a black and white images. We hung 5 more posters and left them over night.

these are the results:

To find out more about the Heygate’ residents real feelings about their home and environment we decided to ask them. We came up with a concept of hanging posters inside the buildings to present the residents with an opportunity to express their feelings in writing and also to provide visual evidence of it.
To get the right response from the residents we designed the poster as a straight forward question posed by the building itself.
We tried to ask a question, which will be open enough for a variety of responses. We also tried to give the residents the opportunity to express their real emotions directly to the building and not to a person asking that question.





We have printed 9 posters 4 in colour and 5 black and white and hang them over night on two separate occasions.

We have supplied colour felt tips pens and attached them to the walls to provide writing materials.

My intervention project will deal with social aspects arising from the regeneration proposal of the E & C area. The project will be done as collaboration between Patrick Tubridy and myself in an effort to reach better results.
We will both keep a separate Blogs and probably have a slightly different ideas and interpretations to the shared work and experiences whilst doing this project.

Our first drift in the E & C area brought us to the Heygate estate, which is also targeted for demolition as part of the regeneration proposal. My initial response to the 1970's social building was fear of this concrete jungle. The two massive lumps of concrete, which probably contains ten times the amount of people I knew of, when I was growing up in a kibbutz in Israel. I was quickly snapping away at random features of this alien environment in fear of being spotted by some local predators, which would have attacked me and stolen my new camera. I imagined a group of yobs closing in on us from both sides of the concrete bridge leaving us no way to escape. The crumbling paint on the walls, the metal bars on the doors and windows of the apartments, the black sealed windows and the wire fence surrounding the roofs are suggesting that I have a good reason to be afraid. However I am consciously aware of the fact that these buildings are the home of a variety of people from different backgrounds and social standards. Families with children and older folks are actually living there and always have been since it was built, some people lived here all their lives.

I wonder how the residents really feel about this place as their home?

The Elephant and castle area (E & C) is about to change dramatically in the coming years.
The regeneration plan includes changes to the clogged traffic system caused by the two existing roundabouts, replacing the dated shopping center with a larger and bigger one, modernizing the old public transport facilities with the introduction of trams, creating open parks and demolishing the Heygate estate. The areas proximity to the attractive South Bank and its good public transport locations suggests a real potential in being one of London's most desirable living, working and recreational centers. Currently however, this area is more associated with polluted air and social deprivation than a lively, going out destination. In the past other attempts to regenerate this area have failed mainly on the grounds of financial disagreements between the involved parties but this time it looks like plans will actually be followed through.

See links for further information.

In relation to my intervention project, I would like to know how dose the E & C regeneration proposal effects the population of the area?

Dockland Community Poster Project (DCPP)

The DCPP was founded by Loraine Lason and Peter Dunn in 1981 in response to the proposed development of the Dockland area. Artists working with trade unions were asked to design posters informing the local residents of the coming changes.
In light of concerns raised by the East London communities about the rights of the residents and the effects of the re-development on the communities, the scale of the DCPP expanded to match the scale of the development.
A steering commity for the DCPP was created representing joint local action groups, funding was raised first by local boroughs and later on by the Greater London Borough.
The main aim of the DCPP was to inform and illustrate the concerns of the local residents regarding the transformation of their homes and communities by the re-developments.

The posters campaign itself was inspired by Chinese wall posters from the cultural revolution.
It was aimed at the local residents as the main audience. The posters were strategically placed on main roads and public places near each of the working sites to be viewed by motorists and pedestrians. They were designed to alert the public to the realities of what really went on behind the walls.
The posters were continually modified in order to match the work process and therefore provided a constant and relevant voice for the residents in their fight.






Another aspect of the project was to photograph and document every site before it swapped hands and also documenting every other aspect of the comunity fight such as public rallies and demonstrations.

This project illustraites the potential of art as a tool in social related issues. The Dockland posters have successfuly managed to voice the residents fears and concerns bringing them into the public debate. It has also provided a platform for the residents to work together as a unit, which was ultimately the main reason behind the success of the project itself and the residents struggle.









http://www.cspace.org.uk/cspace/archive/docklands/dock_arch.htm