Threshold aligning (performing place)

Abstract

Threshold aligning (performing place) is a practice-led research project that explores drawing and sounding in human spatiality and, in particular, shifting sensations of place in the contemporary city. The complex notion of place, defined by the philosopher Jeff Malpas as a structure within which experience is possible, is applied to the research. The research engages strategies of mapping, embracing the topographical analogy proposed by Malpas, to examining the physical and conceptual notion of the threshold. Specifically, the research looks to the crucial role that performance plays in connecting person and place, opening up forms of agency as described in the philosopher Rosi Braidotti's theory of 'complex singularity'. The research explores the performance of the quotidian and the personalisation of public space, as reflected in the practices of artists Morgan O'Hara, Bianca Hester and Cameron Robbins. Through empirical observations in city space, material processes of engaging with field-working include walking, active listening, sounding and drawing, the project aims to make visible and audible the performance of place in different scales and modalities. Engaging a sonic sensibility, as described by artist Salome Voegelin, the work questions visual priority and the simplification of place, in an approach that looks to aligning thresholds in the experience of the contemporary city.