Artists: Murat and Fuat Sahinler (Turkey)
Date: 2008
Location: Forecourt of Christchurch Art Gallery, New Zealand
Media/Type: Site-specific
Commissioned by: 5th SCAPE Christchurch Biennial of Art in Public Space
Recommender: Arzu Yayıntaş
Murat and Fuat Sahinler’s interventions in public space usually challenge the limitations of public space and suggest new spatial conceptions while questioning the existing ones. Their projects are predominantly a search for new opportunities to expand and multiply the social and spatial possibilities of public space.
For this project, they made an intervention with an already existing patch of grass in the forecourt located between the Gallery building and the street, which was vacant and had the potential to be converted for the same purpose. By simply taking away a section of stone, framing the green area and shaping it into an amphitheater form, the duo created a continuity between this grassy area and the forecourt to make it more accessible and appealing to the public.
The work suggests a break from our passive acceptance of the existing order of the space that we daily experience in our urban environments more so in front of the massive gallery building. It is an indication for the diverse possibilities of increasing public involvement.
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