date> 2004 (no longer extant)

medium>structure of recuperated cardboard and glue, for performance

dimensions> 54" high x 25" deep x 48" wide

presentation history> 54" high x 25" deep x 48" wide

description>
A small structure built of recuperated cardboard boxes, whose form might refer simultaneously to a commercial kiosk, a children's fort, a makeshift shelter, an architectural model, and a confessional. For the duration of an exhibition it was used as a container for one-on-one conversations. The scale of the structure was both intimate and potentially uncomfortable, with just enough room for two adults to sit facing each other.

The invitation to enter (both the structure and into conversation) is a gesture of openness to engaging with a stranger, and to whatever might arise out of such an encounter. Each conversation took its logic and dynamic from the meeting itself, with no particular parameters or expectations other than seeing what arises when two people undertake to find something to talk about or some common ground. As such, there was an element of open-ended play, partly established by the reference to a child's play structure and all its related associations of a place set aside for special, intimate exchanges. The proposition also twists the temporal and social expectations we bring to the other types of situations suggested by the structure, such as the speed and anonymity of commerce. In addition, the slowness of conversation and the "aimlessness" of play find a sort of counterpart in the obviously careful fabrication of the structure, which reveals another kind of conversation -- with materials.

Following the exhibition project, the structure was left on the street, to be used by residents or passers-by.

bibliography> exhibition text by Pascale Beaudet