De-/Constructing situations

Abstract

My thesis is inhabited by reflections on interweaving the constructive and the destructive development of situations. During the last year, I experimented with the observation of circumstances and their subsequent de-/construction by entangling the planned with the contingent, the staged with the genuine, the immediate with the remote. Through relinquishing control that has (just) been established, a situation can evolve that teases the "real," and create, eventually, a "new" situation. Hence, this paper attempts to discuss various challenges of "the real" such as interruptions of set hierarchies, interventions in established role plays, or reflections on the process of artistic production. On the other hand, it talks about the creating of "new" situations and its inherent contradictions. I consider my artistic practice as a de-/constructing of situations in everyday life which, through a playful approach, is a way to better understand one's surroundings. The de-/construction begins with the observation of a situation and its social embeddedness: settings, conventions, mechanisms, behavior, signs, tactics, or the organization of space. After looking at what a situation is about and how it "functions," I try to implement myself and apply my understanding to the situation. I plan an interruption within the situation including the people that inhabit it. The actual collective experience of the de-/construction is crucial to the effect that could emerge from this event. Only through the direct perception of a disruption one can understand a situation in a broader sense. With "broader" I mean the experience of the physical impact and the experience of the consternation which demands for reaction.

(cont.) It is not about proposing a solution but rather it is a direct interruption that (re-)opens situations, a kind of "revolution" that allow alterations. C: This is not an art book. B: It's a thesis. C: This is a thesis and you said that last time already. It's not the author's choice if, you know, the copies of the thesis are all original. You have to conform.