(De)Forming Places

Abstract

In this thesis the author reflects on the process of creation of (de)forming places; a research project around space, perception and experience that concludes with three performative installations in specific buildings: (de)formation #1:Colloredo-Mansfeld palace, (de)formation #2: the National Library in Prague and (de)formation #3: The New Stage of the National Theater of Prague, Building B. Each installation was devised in a site specific format and served as a snapshot of the research process. The installations were framed as performative, as they allowed the space to perform. Space here, is defined as a mutable entity that changes with any interaction with the people that inhabit it. The project considers the possibility of transformations of the experience of a place by the encounter between the different perceptions of one same place. (De)forming places researches the use of sensory manipulation, as a staging element, using mechanisms of sound, smell and light, that modulates the perceptual set of the audience and therefore the experience of the atmosphere of the place. In this sense the installation is performing with the audience, not only as it is constantly transforming, but also by causing transformation in the audience’s perception; the place performs, not because it changes, but because its change affects the audience. In (de)forming places project, the author states that a shift of perception is a movement in space, while questioning our positioning as spectators. We live in an environment where everything is changing, yet if everything is moving, what does it mean to be here?