Typo Tattoo

TypoTattoo the social body in ‘zero-friction’ zone

Invited to give a workshop at HKU art Academy, we designed with students relational body texts, expressing the tension and vulnerability of the body in a ‘zero friction’ zone. With these texts on their bodies, we had photo shoot-performance at ‘zero friction’ Schiphol Airport (NL).

Presentation: ‘Sarajevo Picnic 2005’ by Sarajevo Center for Contemporary Arts pro.ba and Sarajevo Goethe institute.

Photo's taken at Schiphol airport TypoTattoo is part of InvitingHorror.org

Zero-friction, public space Maarten Hajer, Arnold Reijndorp: ‘People who appreciate the public domain, should be aware of the fact that many places where a diversity of audiences meet are consciously designed as a ‘zero-friction’ environment, as a friction-free zone.

This design focuses on avoidance of friction. But airports are not the only places where the public domain cannot flourish due to implicit culture politics in favour of functionality. Dominant design concepts for new stations show them as ‘transfer’ machines. The same concepts goes for shopping malls and theme-parks.

Unfortunately we also find this tendency in museums and in cities. In the museum the guidance of an audience streaming becomes a more and more important design question. Not the optimal interaction with art; but a smooth release of audiences defines a successful design.’

‘In search of a new public domain’, page 97

TypoTattoo body The body as both socially and culturally constructed will always be open to and have complex meanings assigned to it. Campbell and Spackman (1998, p.57) state “there is no ‘naked,’ ‘natural’ body; the body, no less than language, is prescribed by culture” and they continue by quoting Barthes “even and especially for your own body, you are condemned to the repertoire of its images”.’

In TypeTattoo the other seems absent, replaced by projections.

The private body acts as physical placeholder for private perception and memory.