The below photographic work (*) is the outcome of a stay in Vienna, Austria. At D0, Culture, contaminated by the Covid, is represented by three statues of the Karl-Marx-Hof, “Körperkultur”, “Befreiung” and “Aufklärung”, wearing face masks and standing in front of a homeless, as among the most vulnerable of us. All of them are enchained […]
Author: Yky
Urban resilience and Culture in times of Covid
A new paradigm is emerging: the nature and scale of risks are changing. The assumption that past observations may help to better appraise future developments becomes questionable due to an anthropogenic metabolism of systemic risks making obsolete our linear way of thinking (1). The abnormal becomes the new norm, shifting to a deadly scenario of […]
The Sense of Vulnerability
The below work speaks about our illusions of strength and power and at the same time shaping our vulnerability. Framed by the perspective of a Pompeii street, the Atlas statue of The Rockefeller Center, NYC, seen as a metaphor of our dreams to equal Olympian Gods, has been replaced by two iconic pieces which I […]
The Sense of Vulnerability
The Anthropocene awareness and its induced damages strengthen the concept of (urban) resilience, often presented as the new panacea for improving our daily lives. Much has been written on resilience, be it from the engineering or socio-ecological point of view; but the notion of vulnerability, often too quickly seen as the opposite of resilience, is […]
Droughts
Inspired by South African and French artists, William Kentridge and Anne Kolin, the below work speaks about our consumer-capitalistic society and disconnected behaviors, infringing basic human rights. It echoes what sociologist Bauman called the passage from “solid” to “liquid” modernity (10), suggesting an ever evolving society where sustainability and social constructions are undermined. The metaphoric […]
Droughts: the ultimate challenge
More than 800 million people in the world lack basic drinking water. Government budgets may increase; still, the UN 2019 report highlights financial resources as a major constraint to achieve appropriate investments (1). Inevitably, this unacceptable figure questions the scope of institutional statements recognizing “the right to safe and clean drinking water as a human […]
How resilient is cultural heritage?
Far from mass tourism attractions, a narrow cobble-stoned Parisian alley tells us the story of carpenters who came from Holland and Germany during the sixteenth century to settle in the Saint-Antoine district. A hidden pathway possibly witnessing the “raison d’être” of a community: a stamp-varnishing master, a manufacture built in 1886 converted in artists’ studios, […]
A cobble-stoned Parisian alley
At D0, a Parisian “passage” witnessing the richness of its legacy faces climate change consequences. It seems to be under pressure from the gauze strips closing the perspective and offering no escape. At D+, a clearing appears, strips and sky darken leaving the field to the facades, questioning a possible resilience for the place. More […]
Chelsea, NYC, 24th street.
If the Enlightment is recognized for an outstanding intellectual and philosophical development, its emergence coincided with theories “from another time”. In her review (1) on “contagions, public health and social links in the United Kingdom during the 18th century”, French sociologist Anne Marcovich recalls the principle of the so called “intermediary space”, defended by JC […]
Metro Bastille
The 5 diptychs of Metro Bastille show the artificial underground features of subway producing mental gaps in our relations with others. D0 shows 5 views of the subway station “Bastille” in Paris photographed during the Covid pandemic. To the empty corridors, distorted shapes and silhouettes of subway passengers photographed before the pandemic have been added. […]
