Collages
Heterotopia
My understanding of Heterotopia is that it is the void between utopia and dystopia, drawing from both and embodying neither, an inception of worlds in the sense that it is in unrest or dissent with what it presides in. It is looking beyond and simultaneously looking into the non-dimensionality of space. It is meant to be as revolting as it is beguiling, a noisome beckoning of the wavered world to the one not. The ‘otherness’ of society and consciousness that it refers to, affirms the repressive temporality of the state of mind, projected onto physical space and manifested as a concrete reality. It pertains to culture, institution and conception- somatically defined by its abstraction of concentrated isolation and alienated whims.
It reminds me of the French novelist Albert Camus and his infamous dispute with the worldly life:
“Man is the only creature that refuses to be what he is”
Perception
I suppose perception to me is the censorship of the world to the psychological insight of the person alone, dictated by their conclave of gathered experiences and their understanding of it. It is the understanding of their own consciousness, reflected on what is before them and therefore, a notion that can be very seldom dictated by an outsider. Perception continues to birth a multitude of paradoxes, for each object has a different meaning, a different designation, and a different significance to every other pair of eyes that witness it and every other mind that scrutinizes it. Unique almost to the degree of inexplicable, the term defines if something tames or bewilders the spectator. An observation/ recognition of the term would be correlating it to colour-blindness: what is blue is not necessarily so- it is simply who looks in and who looks back out.
Retail Therapy
The collage showcases a wire-person diving into an arch contented with shimmering gold blocks, that is bespoke of the luxe, beyond which lies the colours of fashion and fad- combining cultures and colours
This section draws on principles of interior design wherein form and shape consult textures and refer to the significance of colour in creating spatial experiences and navigational/ way-finding cues.
In the context of luxury retail- or more particularly, fashion retail- colours from the red family are often employed for their diplomatic semantics within cultures and traditions as it contrasts with darker hues to create appeal.
On a less happy note, the collage also intends to call awareness to the less glamorous side of fashion fads that take exploit cheap labour in developing countries and advocate for sweat shops to sustain their industry presence: illustrated by the white, ribbed paper that reminisces tin-sheds of the abodes of these contributors to their business
