ACTS OF INHABITING SPACE

In my text First Encounter, I talk about the first experience seeing the enclosed garden. An apartment with a green,  public area in front of the building. A place that you share with the inhabitants that live in the same building. Like the storage space in the basement and the staircase. In the corner of my eye, I noticed the corner of the building, this specific corner became enclosed. The residents who live on the first-floor created space, a garden, an enclosed garden starting from their balcony that wraps around the corner of the house.

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A space which is taken care of by inhabitants, sometimes a groom goes over the sidewalk and the weeds between the tiles are being cleaned. This behavior creates ownership. To own something and ownership are not the same thing. In this case by occupying the space the feeling of ownership is being formed. The feeling of ownership gives the inhabitants control it allows them to gain power in public space and reclaim outdoor spaces. It still is a space where it is not clear who the owner is and who bears the responsibility.

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Through this first encounter I became curious about our use of public spaces like this. Who owns public space? Are we allowed to use public gardens for our own needs? Even if it’s in front of our homes?

The project focuses on the topic of ownership and the acts of inhabiting space. Exhibiting 100 locations in The Hague where various ways of occupation of space are exposed and mapping the future where our habits of claiming space takes over.