Architecture is often used and invoked as the central hallmark of modernization. Cities around the world are rapidly redefining themselves through their architecture in a bid to capture some part of that elusive essence that is “the modern city”. Simultaneously, the attempt to define a local identity in the midst of an international architectural identity leads to a strange emphasis on conservation. Despite this, the materials and tools used to construct and preserve them mainly stay the same. Physically and symbolically they make up one of the most constant elements to our time. Ironically it is structures, ones that were, in and of themselves, intended as a transitional state, who act as relics of a perpetual present within the constantly shifting modern urban environment.

In the midst of modernization, taking the risk of letting go appears to be an almost radical act. Ornament and Concealment aimed to lead the viewer into the very nature of this contradiction, creating an atmosphere of shelter and defenselessness. Instead of a backup preventing a possible future blackout, the installation directed the gaze to a black box of an accident which never happened, but continuously happens.

The complete project text can be read here: ornament-and-concealment.net

Berlin 2013