I arrived at location (cross roads of Albion Street) at 9:00am on Thursday 20th May 2010. As I began to install my piece I hit an immediate conflict. The wall I had chosen to use to display my papers was on the corner of the lingerie store ‘La Senza’, and their security guard became increasingly interested in what I was doing. After positioning my chair, tripod and approximately half of my papers; the guard came out of the shop to talk to me.
Security Guard: “Hello erm what is it that your doing?”
Me: “Hello I’m an Art and Design student from the College of Art; I’m just putting up an installation for my current project. It’s just blue tack holding paper to the wall temporarily so I’m not causing any damage.”
Security Guard: “Well the community support officers are always walking round here and they’d probably do you for vandalism so be careful.”
Me: “Do you mind that I’m here?”
Security Guard: “Well err, the store owner will be in at one o’clock and I don’t think she’d take nicely to u using this wall. Its part of her property you se.”
Me: “Well would it be ok if I stay as long as I take it all down and move on before one o’clock?”
Security Guard: “Yeh I guess so as long as you’ve packed up before one. I’d watch yourself with those community support officers though!”
Me: “Thank you I will.”
I had intended on continuing the installation until six o’clock pm but I decided that I would just do my best to interact with as many people as possible within the new time constraints. After all I still had the backup plan to invite people that I already know to come and take part after six when the shops are closed.
The installation was assembled by 9:45 and I managed to find my first willing participant by 10:20. I had forgotten the extent to which people are reluctant to even communicate with a stranger!
New Plan:-I would pack up at 12:40 so as to avoid a run in with the owner of La Senza. I was feeling nervous to approach people and it only got worse as more an more people shot me down. I had to suck it up and gain confidence to approach every person that passed by if I was going to make the most of the little time I had. Thankfully by 12:40 I had documented six participants which I was really delighted with. Although I had intended to document a minimum of ten, I felt that the conversations I had documented showed a varied reaction to the installation giving me lots to reflect upon.
One of the people who participated was actually one of my class mates James Hirst. His response to the installation was as valuable as the other five participants; however his coincidental participation reassured me that I did not want to repeat the installation inviting people that I already know. It would have been nice to have had a larger audience experience my work, but I felt that James’ response interview lacked a certain authenticity found in those with strangers. My initial documentation of the city centre space became quite focused around the lack of interaction and natural communication between the strangers who shared it.Although my main intention was to take inspiration from the site I originally chose in Hyde Park emphasizing the presence of nature within the urban landscape, I also wanted to reflect the themes of communication and interaction between people whose lives run parallel within my city centre space. Interviewing people who I knew and had purposefully invited to come to the installation would have been irrelevant to my whole concept, themes and intentions. The interviews could have also been negatively affected by anything that my friends may have already known about my intentions. The whole point of documenting peoples responses, was to gain honest feedback telling me if I had achieved my intentions whilst also interacting with the people who genuinely use the space day to day.
