The Park Object Installation by Sabri Idrus

The Park Object

2010, metal structure, slates, resin, bearing and wind

800mm diameter each

The idea for this installation proposal is an extension of a previous interactive piece (see RGB, ORY and Blue Cube, from Masa Series by Sabri Idrus, 2010), scaled to the proportion of the context of public space and public usage. The intention of creating these interactive installation pieces is to engaged the public (viewer) and was developed with the belief that people are most effective in their role as community when they are able to claim public space and through it, make actions that define the space as public. The proposal encompasses the need to rethink citizenship in the context of environmental art, which recognition, engagement and materiality of the space becomes the main focus in placing the artwork. By combining painting and construction, the kinetic mechanism of the installation is hoped to create dialogical participation between the public and the environment. With the current condition where art is often being left out in the context of the built environment, this proposal sees that the crisis of the contemporary society is linked to the democracy of use and its expression in the built environment. Therefore, by envisioning citizenship, redefining democratic participation, and building the creative commons between art, community and the environment, the installation act as a tool in creating simultaneous engagement between fine art, urban design, architecture, visual culture and political will in the context of development. By providing aesthetic in the form of tangible construction and materiality, the artwork is to be tested in the form of public installation (i.e. playground) where public activities take place, and propose improvisational strategies of positive coexistence of the social ecologies. The artwork is also hoped to open up new dimension in the process of neighborhood development, which environmental art plays important role in the process of development of the built environment. Collaborative effort between the artist, the public, planners, architects, authorities and the developer is demanded in positioning the initial idea of the work, which sees proactive and democratic design as the new realm in claiming public space for the society. While not ignoring the basic elements of beauty, function, scale and craftsmanship, the proposal also embark on the concept of ephemeral, speculation and user-oriented perspective in addressing and promote values and forms of the society that are liberating and celebratory. The work is presented as the new ‘interface’ in the context of the public space and also becoming the new integrative component in the development of a more democratic design and place making.

Artwork by Sabri Idrus in collaboration with Hafiz Amirrol and Edy Subangkit. Park image courtesy of Jonathan Dawes and Flowspace Architecture. Text by Hafiz Amirrol.