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Dwelling Space

Article released: Tuesday, 21 September, 2004

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"The real plight of dwelling lies in this that mortals ever search anew for the nature of dwelling, that they must ever learn to dwell". (Heidegger, 1971 p. 211).

The work in this exhibition is about what it means to "dwell". Dwelling is the way in which we humans are on the earth. It is the way in which you "are" and I "am". Dwelling is "to remain", to stay in a place, but does not imply stasis.

The way this staying is experienced is by being, by being brought to, and by remaining in, peace (ibid., p149): a peace that holds within it an innate sense of belonging, to place, to community, to home.

We do not build to dwell. It is because we dwell that we build. What we build, and, in the case of public space, have built on our behalf, is important to our wellbeing as city dwellers. These spaces help us understand who we are as a person, a community and a "city" and either facilitate or deny our ability to dwell.

Dwelling blurs the boundary between what is public and what is private by infusing what is public with a sense of private ownership derived from the feeling of belonging.

The passage of time is essential to the experience of dwelling. With time it is possible to know, own and understand a space - its history, its present, its future, and transform it into a place.

Exhibition: 21 - 24 September
GALLERY HOURS: 10am - 5pm Monday to Friday.

ALL WELCOME
COFA Exhibition/Performance Spaces
EG03, Ground Floor E Block
College of Fine Arts, The University of New South Wales
Corner Oxford Street & Greens Road, Paddington. 2021
Tel: 9385 0797