Architekturforum Linz, 2007
(show travels Austria this year)

Presentation in group show with Public Works, Celine Condorelli, MUF, Finn Williams and Kaija Vogel. Curated by Peter Arlt.

afo.at

Historically, Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square are the national sites for political rallies and pickets in Britain. New legislation has recently compromised this situation. A clause in the 2005 Serious Organised Crime and Disorder Act makes it illegal to hold protests in an area of 1 square kilometre around the Houses of Parliament (also called the ‘Exclusion Zone’) without prior permission from the Metropolitan Police. The Act does not state properly what defines a protest: displaying a sign with “Stop The War” probably does but a sign with “Happy Birthday” doesn’t. A T-shirt or a tattoo with a political slogan doesn’t, unless displayed explicitly or long enough for it to become a statement. It is up to the police officers on site to interpret the intention of protesters in relation to the manner, context and content of their actions.

These are factors that play a part in art as well and a remake of a clip from the 1967 film “Don’t Look Back” was an attempt to use and confuse them. In the film, Bob Dylan is flipping 62 cards with words from his song ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’: “basement”, “medicine”, “government” and so on. The song mentions police surveillance in relation to public order and the fire hoses used by US police at the time to disperse demonstrators against the Vietnam war.

Inspired by the Mass Lone Protest Movement, that aims to jam the police bureaucracy by applying for a mass of single person demonstrations simultaneously every month, 62 ‘Applications for Protest’ were sent off to the Metropolitan Police. As the reason for the event was stated: ‘display of the word ”basement” (“medicine”, “pavement”, “government” and so on) with political intention’.A single permit to ‘display words with political intention’ was issued by the Police.

The short video clip, entitled
“I’m On the Pavement Thinking About the Government” was presented in an exhibition about public spaces in London, together with the paperwork required to produce it.