FAIDER, 2016, Brussels
(plan for site intervention)
A wedge-shaped pedestrian space, defined by ‘pilons’ at the 5-way juncture of streets by the FAIDER tram station in Saint-Gilles. Mute geometric figures of “La Ville” cluster in the center, ignored by passersby. Bits of trash pile up among the dead plants in the planters outside the closed restaurant. Commuters cut through the space in irregular, improvised patterns, coming briefly together on this stage before disappearing around various corners. Those willing to participate take a spool of colored rope and unspool it behind them. Others are followed by me in an attempt to leave behind a trace of the paths of nameless citizens. At the end of the morning a performative installation lingers, the rope creating a snapshot/map of the life in this neglected space.
Another option. Recording by window-mounted camera of certain periods of the day: winter morning rush hour, lunch time in summer, a spring Friday night. In edit, colors are assigned to each time of day and are traced along the paths of each person who passes through the wedge. An accumulation of these tracings evolves through re-animation of the film, building a personality for the space.