Tracey Emin: My Bed

"Tracey Emin shows us her own bed, in all its embarrassing glory. Empty booze bottles, fag butts, stained sheets, worn panties: the bloody aftermath of a nervous breakdown. By presenting her bed as art, Tracey Emin shares her most personal space, revealing she’s as insecure and imperfect as the rest of the world."

The Saatchi Gallery website

Georges Perec: Species of Spaces and Other Pieces

" The passage of time (my History) leaves behind a residue that accumulates: photographs, drawings, the corpses of long since dried-up felt pens, shirts, non-returnable glasses and returnable glasses, cigar wrappers, tins, erasers, postcards, books, dust and knickknacks: this is what I call my fortune."

Thesis Abstract 03: Round One!

The Bed Fables: Intimate Expanse

Place has the ability to move us. Its presence stirs deep within the constructs of memory; Ever shifting, it will not confine itself to form, but traverses all spatial boundaries, requires no language, and collapses all time; thus it is, by this nature, elusive and difficult to define. Settling itself in the identity of the individual, it resonates with one's experiential past, and therein finds its own identity. Place finds its roots within us; Place is a sense.

This thesis makes reference to the study of Place, as it is seen through the lens of the bed, and the atmosphere created therein. Jules Michelet writes, of the building of a bird’s nest, that this home is formed so intimately, by and for the body, that it is an extension of the bird itself. The bed is a repository of memory - it becomes part of the body, and as such is intrinsically tied to one's intimate identity. Gaston Bachelard refers to the house as a cradle, a refuge that appeals to our primitiveness to enclose and protect ourselves; the bed then, is a respite from the storms of waking life, and in it we find safety in the depths of sleep – it is the architecture of dreams. The bed represents that which is familiar, and comforting, or what Freud would refer to as the homely; on it we project the memories of past encounters. Through this projection of identity, it grows in meaning, and Place is born. In its intimacy, the bed is a palimpsest, a record of the life it has served. Georges Perec speaks of these objects of memory as a residue that has accumulated over the history of a life – the traces of time. The place of rest, however intimate, enclosed, and of the body it is, is also of the mind for it opens itself to the great expansive horizon of the imaginary. This thesis focuses on the Bed as it is seen through various literary voices; among these themes are those of Place, Atmosphere, the Uncanny, and the process of decay.

It is the intention of this thesis to further explore the histories, meanings, purposes, and myths that surround the idea of the Bed as Place. How is Place constructed in the imagination? Can Place be born through the traces of a life? What atmosphere is created when the objects we have such intimacy with, those which have born witness to a life, are left in abandonment, the circumstances of which are unclear? What has been the cultural role of the bed through the ages? How does the idea of the bed situate itself in literature? What are the elements of Place that surround and construct the architecture of the bed? Why can the bed carry such significance, and human identity?

The Bed As Place works both with the intimacy of the body, and with the vastness of imagination. It is a house of dreams. Auge in his essay "From Places to Non-Places" writes that place "...refers to an event (which has taken place), a myth (said to have taken place), or a history (high places)." In an attempt to answer the aforementioned questions, this thesis will put forth a book of fables of the Bed As Place, described in varying media such as essays, poetry, photography, film, and installation work, beginning with the Bed as Event, the Bed as Myth, and the Bed as History. In order to define the Bed As Place it is necessary to employ the medium of atmosphere, so as to convey an emotional understanding of the ideas discussed. It is as yet unclear what precisely this work may entail, however, in the mapping of the themes that surround the thesis, a dialogue will emerge, and with it a further understanding of Place and its role within the field of architecture.

The Bed as Place: Part I

P03 Paradigm Map

par-a-digm (n): 1. a typical pattern or model, an exemplar. 2. a world view underlying the theory and methodology of a particular scientific subject. 3. a philosophical and theoretical framework of a scientific school or discipline within which theories, laws, and generalization and the experiments performed in support of them are formulated; broadly : a philosophical or theoretical framework of any kind

The Tarot Card Deck is a means of flexibly organizing, and cataloguing a set of sources; each card represents the ideas of an artist, writer, poet, or place that pertain to the dominant themes and schools of thought surrounding the thesis. The deck is based on the framework of a traditional Tarot Card deck and consists of four 'Houses' and one set of 'Major Arcana' (historically these are the 'higher secrets'); these are the House of Ravens, the House of Masks, the House of Pentacles, and the House of Stone, representing the themes of Temporality, the Uncanny, Atmospheres, and Place respectively. The Major Arcana cards are thinkers that represent at least two or more of the dominant themes, and are considered to be 'wild cards' that can fluctuate meaning depending on the lens through which they are examined.

Through this framework, one can group the sources in previously conceived relationships, or discover startlingly new conversations between the various schools of thought that might not have otherwise been seen. A methodology for uncovering these hidden relationships is in the art of storytelling through the cards, in much the same way as was traditionally done. In the writings of Italo Calvino's Castle of Crossed Destinies, stories are unfolded by allowing the Tarot cards to speak for the characters of the book. I propose that three cards drawn at random from the Tarot deck can be strung together in a poem, or story, linking the sources that each one represents. This not meant to be an end in itself, but simply a means of playing with the major paradigms of the thesis work - a catalyst for thought.

The deck will expand and shift focus, congruent with the growth of the thesis work; a hierarchy of ideas will emerge in the mapping of this ever-shifting paradigm landscape. Phase One of the Paradigm Map saw the development of the 'Royalty' of the four Houses, and the first five cards of the Major Arcana set. Phase Two of the project edited the first deck, shifting some of the focus on certain ideas, and produced the cards one through ten of the House of Ravens suit. A comprehensive reading list was also developed in this phase. The back of the card was designed to encompass the four Houses of the Tarot deck - Ravens, Masks, Pentacles, and Stones are all represented in a simplified manner, etched into the card in a geometric pattern.

P03 Major Arcana

P03 House of Ravens

P03 House of Masks

P03 House of Pentacles

P03 House of Stones

The Chevalier of Masks, the King of Stones, and the Second Major Arcana Met...

I run from him who hunts me,
the hunted from the hunter,
his hounding presence haunts me,
and allows but bitter rest.

Mind reeling, scratching, scrambling,
screeching, sinking, plunging
clawing, tearing, spiraling
spiraling wildly down.

Fingers raking for an anchor.
Clutching, clutching for an answer.
Grasping, grasping but there is nothing -
but there is nothing there.

He ripped them from their roots, he did!
From their very roots, he did!
A thousand empty sockets,
stare out from empty field,
look out to empty sockets,
reach in to emptiness.

And now I've found some stillness,
within this mad-house world,
within this weeping world.
In this shattered haven,
this crumbling shattered haven,
this tattered matted haven,
I've found my happiness.

My thoughts wheel 'round the ruins,
around the crumbled ruins
there's solace in the shadows...
... and safety with the Beast.

The Fourth Major Arcana, the Ace of Pentacles, and the King of Ravens Met....

He stood

before me smiling

eyes twitching,

with the untold truth.

I saw him leaving

walking into silent seas

before my eyes

dissolving.

He took his poetry with him

pressed

to his crooked lips.

He drank

the Peace of yesterday

the scraps

of a life

already lived.

Object To Be Destroyed - Man Ray, 1923

The Keeper of Time watches. She is a fact – solid; standing stubbornly, patterned by the unpredictable scars of age. A wooden habit drapes rigidly from her summit; stern, and scolding. Incessantly her finger moves to and fro with the indifferent gaze of a forbidden memory; a memory that seethes within. Taunting, torturous, maddening stare; serenely agitates the soul of the forlorn broken heart.

Thesis Abstract 02

Facing Temporality: The Architecture of Atmospheres

Atmospheres are spaces that have the ability to move us. Their presence stirs in the depths of our subconscious, and demands an emotional understanding of place – they are, by this nature, illusive and resistant to definition. This thesis makes reference to the study of atmospheres as it is approached in three schools of thought; the phenomenology of space, architecture as it is processed by the senses, and understanding atmospheres in their typologies. Peter Zumthor catalogues the varying sensory properties of building materials and their effect on the mood of a space, while simultaneously defining atmospheres through relentlessly descriptive writings, and imagery to further convey his meaning. In the work of Juhani Pallasmaa, our experience of space is more strictly attributed to the five senses, with criticism placed on our reliance on the visual aspects of architecture. Gaston Bachelard, in his The Poetics of Space, breaks atmospheres into their typologies in order to further understand the character of certain spaces. This thesis focuses on the Atmosphere of Decay, and how it approaches the burial site in contemporary culture; for it is in understanding these spaces that we can begin to understand our own temporality.

It is the intention of this thesis to further explore and unveil the meaning of experiential space, and to uncover the beauty inherent in the natural process of decay. How does a space of great presence and distinct character come to exist? What is it that defines an atmosphere? The cool, awe-striking serenity of an expansive stone cathedral, the invigorating warmth and bustle of a vibrant city marketplace, the charming golden haze of a haphazard night-time cafe; atmospheric places evoke emotion, sensation, and memory, giving identity to both visitor and architecture. How can atmosphere respond to the question most deeply rooted in our collective human identity, that of death, and what is its role in fathoming the unfathomable?

In an attempt to answer these questions the thesis will rigorously document atmospheres with the presence of temporality. Spaces that have succumbed to the natural process of decay will be explored in great detail through the employment of photography, film, watercolour painting, literature, and installation work. The methodology used will develop a language for discussing the atmospheric qualities of space, and conveying the experiential identity of the environments documented. Film is intended to capture the expanse and eerie stillness of decay, while painting, writing, and photography are the means of capturing the mood of the space. Installation art will encompass all of the aforementioned qualities and will serve to communicate the intense emotional understanding of place to others.

The Bus Terminal

The Bus Terminal - A Modernist Encounter
Gillian Tyrrell


It is twilight. The sky hangs, heavy in the breath of the night air - an ominous sea, draping its hues of the deepest silvery blue across the city. The lampposts at the bus terminal flicker on with a triumphant buzz. Concrete planters dot the pavement; their flowers now wilted from the unashamed gaze of yesterday's sun. I stand amidst a garden of crumpled paper and cigarette butts, my eyes tracing the paths of the beasts of burden that pass me by; they circle this concrete island, from the safety of an asphalt moat. Deep, whirring sighs escalate as they turn, falling into a faint mechanical murmur, before the bus comes to a hissing stop. A stirring occurs. Figures leak from enclosures, drifting steadily in all directions. Dozing eyes snap open, and shapes lurch from park benches, making haste for a bus on the brink of departure. Those who have been waiting patiently at the signposted destination press closer to the curb, so as to fend off those just arriving. With a glance down at his battered watch, a man with parchment skin on which age has signed its name, shuffles toward an awaiting bus. Motion has become the medium. Shadowy masses push forward at each withdrawn door, and individuals melt into a collective. With not more than a hum of resignation, the buses pull away from their resting points and disperse, happily fulfilling their purpose. Throughout the tide of travelers, the bus terminal stands firm; a fortress weathering the transitory storm, it is the keeper of time. Carved against a backdrop of glowing darkness, broken only by the lit windows of living rooms, and the faint etching of church spires, its silhouette keeps watch through the veil of night.

P02 Contextual Montage

Using the technique of montage, develop three drawings that situate your thesis topic within its relevant contexts, issues, discourses and assumptions.




Destabilising Otherness

The Homely becoming Unhomely; the familiar becoming estranged, abandoned and lifeless. This sensation, felt at the sight of architectural decay and darkness, differs from the awe-striking power of the Sublime. The Uncanny is fearsome in its subtleties, in its ability to emerge from within ourselves; where the sublime is impressed upon us, the Uncanny finds its origins in the shadowy pools of our thoughts - what we thought of as recognizable takes on the eerie precipice of the unknown.

"The house, like man, can become a skeleton. A superstition is enough to kill it. Then it is terrible." Hugo, Les Travailleurs

This montage sought to take an object of familiarity and make it unfamiliar in its decay, representing 'the Other'. The School of Architecture was artificially aged using a collection of photographs taken of the decayed spaces throughout the city of Cambridge - these were then grafted on to the building.



























Liminal Lullaby

The second of the three montages depicted a catalogue of vacant death beds. The aesthetic of the image was deliberately shrouded so as to obscure the image slightly, making it appear separate from the onlooker, as though it is hidden under the surface of water. Various beds are portrayed in which the threshold from this life to the unknown next is traversed; among them, a prison bed, an operating table, a hosptial cot, a lethal injection bed, and the beds at Auschwitz. The beds are empty - the onlooker cannot know what event has taken place, but can only sense the atmosphere of the images, and thus interpret them. This montage strives to take one of the most familiar and 'homely' objects, and transform it into the Uncanny.


The(y) Past in the Current

The last of the montages is a depiction of the Richview Memorial Cemetery, at the intersection of the highways 401, and the 427, in Toronto. It attempts to show the distortion of the senses at this site, and the eeriness of the motion that surrounds the stillness of the cemetery. This montage is a palimpsest. It layers both the lives of those who settled in the original community of Richview (a town long since swallowed by the tides of time), and the lives of those who contributed to the building of the infrastructure that surrounds it. The history of the city is depicted here, superimposed on the current condition of the cemetery, at the centre of one of the busiest intersections of Canada. This cemetery has seen generations come and go, the land change from fields to limbs of steel and concrete - it has stood sentinel, a witness to the passing of time.

Her Morning Elegance - Oren Lavie

The Bed as Site.

Eugenio Montale - Cuttlefish Bones

excerpt from
The Lemons

See, in these silences where things
give over and seem on the verge of betraying
their final secret,
sometimes we feel we're about
to uncover an error in Nature,
the still point of the world, the link that won't hold,
the thread to untangle that will finally lead
to the heart of a truth.
The eye scans its surroundings,
the mind inquires aligns divides
in the perfume that gets diffused
at the day's most languid.
It's in these silences you see.