The Faces of the Crisis is the title of the final project that Susanne Weng has prepared for the Master Design and Creation of Spaces. The project aims to activate the participation of the audience in order to create an exhibition on the concept of “crisis”. The wall of the Pati de les Dones at CCCB will be the space where the exhibition will be presented from the 25th to the 29th of June. This Facebook event shows you how to take part in the project.
In this article, Susanne Weng explains the main ideas and the development of the initiative..
Everyone is talking about the crisis, but what does that actually mean for every one of us?
The world is becoming increasingly complex. Through the globalization everything is closely connected
and linked in mutual dependence. The negative consequences of this network are clearly reflected in the current financial and economic crisis. First it became visible in 2008, an ending of this crisis is still not foreseeable.
In addition there are ongoing hunger crises, political crises, wars and environmental disasters. In our daily life, we are affected by personal crises like unemployment, illness or the loss of a beloved person.
Therefore, “the” crisis does not exist. Which crisis we feel, and if we are affected by a crisis at all, depends on our situation. It depends on the environment we live in, on our prosperity and at the same time on how we deal with our own feelings and fears.
I think that the complexity of the world and the resulting uncertainties of the courses and contexts can produce a feeling of helplessness and powerlessness. Can I, as a small individual have influence over what is going on in the world?
On the other hand we live quite naturally in this networked world.
With the social media like facebook, twitter and blogs we are connected through a few clicks. We trust in it, finding friends, illustrating our lives, sharing and giving opinions. This tight network has a huge potential!
Within a very short time, we can find like-minded people, spread ideas and organize meetings.
And the more people raise their voice at the same time, the louder and unmistakable it becomes.
Social media can work as an amplifier.
I want to use the social network Facebook to invite as many people as possible, to create together with them an “exhibition” about their perception of “crisis”.
The place of exhibition will be the marble wall in the courtyard of the CCCB, the Centre for Contemporary Culture in Barcelona. I will create a framework for all the different posts, and as a “tool” I will provide tape that can be used in every way that’s possible. To pin pictures or drawings on the wall, to use it as a base to write on or even as a tool to form words or images. The exhibition shall at the same time give room to profound thoughts, just as spontaneous snapshots, feelings or moods that occur spontaneously.
The common question is: What means crisis to you, where do you see a/your crisis?
My intention is, that we create together a more complex and multilayered picture of “crisis”, to give a platform to all the different situations, thoughts and feelings of each of us. The exhibition can work as organ and a platform for discussions.
From the 25th until the 29th of June everyone is invited to take part in the exhibition to create a more complex and multilayered picture of “crisis”!
On-site ADHESIVE TAPE will serve you to pin, as base for writing, or just as a writing medium itself.
All contributions that will be posted until the 28th of June on the pin board of the facebook event will also be exposed.
Susanne Weng