When speaking of the city on a macro level, we often use terms like surface, texture or fabric to refer to the patterns of architecture and flows of people, energy, information etc. as something that becomes almost tangible. In the micro realm of everyday life, it is the multitude of surfaces that surround us which create boundaries and determine what is possible. It is in the space between these two points of reference where the tensions between the private and the public, the individual and the collective, become visible.
As the world population continues to move to urban centres, growing numbers of people contest a limited supply of space as their place for living. This brings with it a whole range of issues, ranging from environmental sustainability to the living standards and human rights of those at the bottom of the social scale who come to the city in search of a better life.
Surface started out as a journey to some of the rising metropolitan centres of East Asia and the Pacific Rim. D-Fuse have visited Auckland, Bandung, Bangkok, Hanoi, Kaohsiung, Kuala Lumpur, Melbourne and Seoul, collaborating with local artists in each city to document their urban spaces and the dynamics at work within them. This has been done through exploration on street level, media research, and the sharing of materials, ideas and working methods. This collaborative aspect, while also giving rise to questions of authorship, has served to subvert any preconceived notions of a given place, culture or society on the part of the visitors, instead creating a lively interchange between local and global, interior and exterior viewpoints. Overall, D-Fuse have worked with around 80 artists on this project.
© 2015 D-Fuse Limited