Unauthorised Access
Builders mesh, galvanised scaffolding, LED message board, plywood.
Shelter Union exhibition, Millers Point and UNSW Galleries
Side by side, the two most contentious developments in Sydney are proceeding apace. To the east, the social and affordable housing of Millers Point are being cleared for sale. To the west, Barangaroo’s hollow headland park has risen to meet them, closely followed by the office towers and an ‘unsolicited’ casino. These two vastly different but intimately connected developments raise significant questions about development in our city: In whose interest is this happening? Who gets to say how our city is made/unmade?
The temporary barricades erected around construction sites across the city are a physical manifestation of the obscurity and exclusivity of city-making in Sydney. Scaffolding, plywood hoardings, plastic scrim and signs declaring, NO UNAUTHORISED ACCESS.
In reaction to this we made a space which supports UNAUTHORISED ACCESS to discuss and debate these developments. A space which invites people in rather than keeps them out. A space to ask questions and imagine other possibilities. A space to create ‘unsolicited proposals’ of our own.
A public billboard for the creation, collection and distribution of public 'unsolicited proposals' for Millers Point at Clyne Reserve. A public call out for contributions from anyone with a better idea for Millers Point to submit their proposal for inclusion.
Filed under:
public space, commons, installation
Collaborator.
Adriano Pupilli
Read: Reterritorialising Space, Lucy Ainsworth.
The installation itself was made from common construction materials – scaffold, plastic scrim, plywood, and ‘caution’ signs, to blend in with the Barangaroo building site. Unlike regular construction sites, rather than keep people out, the viewing tower invited people in to inspect the surrounding area from a vantage point. The installation acted as a meeting point, where discussions with local residents and advocacy groups occurred. Informative flyers were dispersed detailing the social fallout of the financial decision to sell the land, in turn inviting the public to submit their own ideas for how the land could be used. Anonymous submissions were made with suggestions such as ‘stop the casino, give back Sirius, high street, windmill st [street] back to social and public housing’ and ‘how about a giant wrecking ball knocking tenants one way and Dalgety Terrace houses the other way, as they will surely pull them down once we are all cleared out.’ These proposals were displayed publically on a scrolling LED board for passers-by to see. Over six weeks, the installation stood amongst the Barangaroo construction site, resident’s protest signs and middle class couples inspecting properties to bid on. For a short time, this work created a junction for discussion and reflection on the politics of public space and regained ‘ownership’ of an area vastly out of the public’s control.
Lucy Ainsworth, Runway. Issue 33
Collaborator.
Adriano Pupilli
Read: Reterritorialising Space, Lucy Ainsworth.
The installation itself was made from common construction materials – scaffold, plastic scrim, plywood, and ‘caution’ signs, to blend in with the Barangaroo building site. Unlike regular construction sites, rather than keep people out, the viewing tower invited people in to inspect the surrounding area from a vantage point. The installation acted as a meeting point, where discussions with local residents and advocacy groups occurred. Informative flyers were dispersed detailing the social fallout of the financial decision to sell the land, in turn inviting the public to submit their own ideas for how the land could be used. Anonymous submissions were made with suggestions such as ‘stop the casino, give back Sirius, high street, windmill st [street] back to social and public housing’ and ‘how about a giant wrecking ball knocking tenants one way and Dalgety Terrace houses the other way, as they will surely pull them down once we are all cleared out.’ These proposals were displayed publically on a scrolling LED board for passers-by to see. Over six weeks, the installation stood amongst the Barangaroo construction site, resident’s protest signs and middle class couples inspecting properties to bid on. For a short time, this work created a junction for discussion and reflection on the politics of public space and regained ‘ownership’ of an area vastly out of the public’s control.
Lucy Ainsworth, Runway. Issue 33