Surround: Architecture, Public Space and Social Interaction

Surround: Architecture, Public Space and Social Interaction, is an exhibition exploring our relationship to public and private spaces. The exhibition features the work of Vancouver-based artists Alex Morrison and March 21 and Austrian artists Sabine Bitter and Helmut Weber. While the artists in the exhibition come from differing perspectives, all share an interest in the social dynamics of space.

In their works presented in the exhibition, Sabine Bitter and Helmut Weber look at housing projects in Europe and South America that exemplify the utopian ideals of Modernist architecture. Rather than approaching these sites from a purely aesthetic perspective, their work is concerned with the conflict between the original intentions or aspirations of the sites and the realities of their current use.

The politics of use also inform the work of Alex Morrison and March 21 as both investigate issues of access in relation to public space. In a series of photographs, Morrison examines insignificant anywhere/nowhere spaces often used as a refuge by youth and the homeless. In other works both Morrison and March 21, look at the contested spaces favoured by skateboarders. Each explores strategies employed to bar use of these public spaces. The psychogeography of contemporary music cultures such as the rave scene and stadium concerts is the theme of further works in the exhibition by March 21.