Dividers
Artist Book

Digital Print,
Acetone Transfer, 
Stickers

This project showed at Dy3corpia: Future Intersections of the Body and Technology in May 2021. 

Struck by Selena Savic and Gordan Savicic‘s book, Unpleasant Design, Dividers was born from an interest in exploring design’s ability to do harm. Commonly used in urban design, Hostile Architecture is often notoriously used to restrict the way that vulnerable populations navigate public space.

Dividers reveals Edmonton’s use of hostile architecture and their exclusionary approach to the design of public space. The book challenges the division these unpleasant architectural “solutions” creates within Edmonton’s communities.

The text used is appropriated from a community thread on Quora in response to the question, “What are your thoughts on hostile architecture?

Dividers displays images of fences in Edmonton’s innercity: particularily those erected in obvious efforts to prevent unhoused folks from accessing certain public space. These spaces include a former Tent City (shut down in 2007) and an overpass situated between Edmonton’s former Remand Centre and the new Royal Alberta Museum; the overpass’ opposing street views illustrates an economic divide between two parts of the city.

*A seriously massive thank-you to Dustin Wardrop and the staff at Lee Valley Tools for teaching me about wood and entertaining my search for book-binding hinges.

*For an introduction to hostile architecture, check out 99% Invisible’s Podcast, Unpleasant Design.