Take Away Space was an experimental installation that examined methods for how to wear and interpret space. It was exhibited at Seventh Gallery in Melbourne in February 2017. The installation consisted of a free-standing white wall (1800 x 1500 x 150 mm) made of more than two hundred kilograms of custom-made plaster bricks (150 x 150 x 300 mm).
Some of the bricks had pieces of white garments embedded in them, while others had the imprint of clothing on their surface. The garments were bought in secondhand shops to reflect the city of Melbourne. I chose plaster as a material because it personally responded to my architectural experience of the city and the predominant use of plaster as a building material. The textile imprints created in Take Away Space became a sculptural relief but, more importantly, enhanced a tactile experience — haptic perception is an inseparable part of our experience of architectural space. The white wall, with the potential to architecturally affect the existing gallery space, provoked a corporeal engagement with the visitors.
The gallery visitors were invited to participate by breaking the wall of bricks; to chip away pieces of plaster to make jewellery, or simply to take parts of the wall they liked. Hand tools such as mallets and chisels and materials such as jewellery bases, glue and protective glasses were provided for visitors to chisel pieces of wall to design their own jewellery and exit the gallery wearing the space. Corporeal engagement and the activity of a small-scale demolition of the wall was intended to have an impact on the visitor’s memory and perception of the gallery space.
Photographs from the exhibition (26 Jan – 10 Feb 2017) at Seventh Gallery, Melbourne, can be seen here. Photo credit: Jared Kuvent
Read Claire’s beautiful Share House Choreography essay about Take Away Space.