1. Damla - Botanique, exist toward Bld. Saint Lazare
``Observe your personal trajectories in space, as the garden is pretty much empty at this time. After 12 - 15 minutes we meet back here and we can share reasons and thoughts on why you chose this trajectory.`` notes of rares
(To be the first to comment on my own observation proposal)
ReplyDeleteFirst of all some little notes on Botanique that I have kept from you today: The park was in the beginning a PRIVATE park paying tribute to horticultural society. I think this fact explains the park's structural deficiency in becoming public, setting forth a stylish (even over-stylish) grandeur. The plate at the entrance of the park explains, then it was bought by the government and decided to be kept as a "public garden for walking in". This intention for the park reveals itself - for me in an interestingly overt way - again in the organisation of the space. The predetermined function of the space serves as highly limiting agent in terms of potential alternative existences in the space, however as we've argued today the lack of the same determination might result in non-existence of a space itself. This brings into my mind a question: what would be the extent of determination for a space, enough to set the space itself but also loose enough to let it and its habitants to have alternative uses, existences? One last point about the park is the fact that it has been - especially lately - "harmed by infrastructural works". For example, the road which's side I specifically picked as the starting point for observation was recent construction. As far as I observed this road kept everyone of us from exploring the (more beautiful) other part of the park. This lays bare INTEGRITY as a crucial character of the space. The further constructions like the dominating skyscraper at the observation spot also discloses the priorities of contemporary (neoliberalist) society, where private economy dominates over the public welfare.
Here are my notes and further questions that I come up with during my observation:
ReplyDeleteThe concrete objects (like statues) or roads determines a route to follow while an open space serves as an invitation to take my time.
The 'familiarity' and appealing to 'memory' served as determining elements on my choices.
Further questions (not necessarily to be answered):
Did anybody cross the road to the other side of the park? Why / why not?
How does the state of observation effect the use and passage of time?
Did you prefer to overlook the space (which in the specific case highly possible with its gigantic terraces) or to pass through it (e.g. the maze-like plants)? (As a question mastery over or experience of space)
How did the time restriction, which I assume to be an indicative of contemporary society effected your approach to space?
ways, what informs them?
ReplyDeletethe visual in the distance
the people i want to follow
the wish for solitude
the couriosity of something what i cannot see
the material or promise of a unexspected view
the hidden information
the man sleeping outside the fence under a playground roof
the rain makes me explore other ways
being protected from above
people waiting under trees, beeing part of the landscape becoming nature by the rain
the frontiers and big houses around
neon files to manipulate the growing of the nature
waiting
someone is missing.
responisibilty of everyone
groupformation
exclusion, inclusion
doubts
dependencies
consensus?
waiting
he appears
reduction of time for the fallen apart one
I am curious to see how the plants and these big buildings (the big police building from Victoria Reginaplantsoen 1 and the Royal Gerenn Houses) are nogociating the space. It is interesting that the plants near the big police building are vertical, goign up, like covering the building or maybe making it smaller through comparison. The plants near the Royal Greenhouses are more of a horizontal display, almost like putting on a stage for the building.
ReplyDeleteThe botanique
ReplyDeleteI ambled around and then it was as thought my path followed a route of memories.
It brought me back to an Old oak I'd seen before which reminded me of taking a photo of a recent boyfriend in london, he smiled in the photo but he was fucking angry and in a shitty mood ar the time, then I ambled on focusing on the different plant species, the next surprise was a bamboo that made me think of plum village the buddhist monastery in the south of France I visit regularly, of sitting inside a dense grove of them- often a refuge from the sun. Then i found a large Fig that reminded me of my childhood stealig figs on the side if the road in Spain and the farmer carching us and being pissed off , then there were some Big banana plants, this made me think of spain again and a beach bar called 'el patio' where they grow banana plants in the overflow from the beach showers and my son when he was small playing in the overflow, then there was an Olive tree, again spain but the dusty planes of huge industrial olive plantations, then in a smaller side garden there was Rosemary which was a bit scraggly and brought me
Back to Brussels and my own garden where the rosemary only survives because it asks for zero attention and finally I found some
Sage which brought me to a very recent culinary discovery, if you fry it in a pan with olive oil and serve it with salt on a cherry tomatoe it's delicious. So wandering without direction took me on a narrative of memory that was only interrupted by the constant drone of traffic.