Tower Block was constructed on location at the Red Bull
381 Projects Space in Toronto, Ontario over the month leading
up to the exhibition opening on
September 10, 2009. The project was conceived of as an examination
of the layering of architecture and constructed space over
time. The installation progressed from a single shed that
was constructed and then flattened in the exhibition space,
with subsequent structures constructed on top of and around
the wreckage.
The project developed structure by structure in a more or
less organic process. Each constructed element was completed
before the next, and as each was finished the sum of the
previous structure suggested the next element to be constructed.
The second structure to be built was a small site office,
in which we could hold our materials and tools for the remaining
work to be completed. The site office has been a critical
component of past works, as it was in this one. This structure
becomes a private space within a more or less public sphere,
a space to think and plan the upcoming work.
The Red Bull 381 Projects Space is an exhibition space located
within the offices of Red Bull Canada in Toronto. As such
the space has a number of unique characteristics, not the
least of which is that it is located within the office environment.
The nature of the space suggested a kind of contemporary,
hip work environment, with music, open office layouts etc...
A key element of the work ended up being an interrogation
of the working environment, with a set of work desks constructed
under a low ceiling and surrounded with sound-dampening insulation.
This claustrophobic space leads to a ramp access to the centre-point
of the installation consisting of a tower some 18 feet in
the air. This panoptic tower provided the visitor to the
installation with access to the second floor of the Red Bull
offices.
The final components of the installation consist of a set
of bleachers and a witness/accused stand. The bleachers were
constructed as a kind of accompanying structure to the tower
and the accused stands and provided viewers with a set location
to investigate the entire installation. The accused stands
were constructed from materials taken from an unused office
space behind the Red Bull offices (a source of much of the
material used in the installation). In particular four large
sheets of plate glass formed the sides and front of the stands.
Ladders provided access to the cubicles from underneath.
As a component of the opening a guard kiosk was constructed
in front of the
gallery's door on street level. It was anchored to a tree
stump left by the city of Toronto staff.