Research Itineraries: A Photographic Inquiry from the MDes Critical Conservation Students
The exhibition is a visual collection of the research work put forward by the second year student of the MDes track in Critical Conservation. It wants to present itself as a fragmentary constellation of individual interests and experiences that encompass the multifaceted aspects of Design, from landscape to personal memories, from heritage to housing and more. Indeed, it represents the very nature and richness of the concentration. The arrangement of the exhibition, from each exhibitor to the whole ensemble, created a world that could be seen as a map of the program’s inquiry.
Moreover, Research Itineraries wants to raise some questions: how is it possible to visually express the manifold reality of a research project through simply pictures, collages or videos? How can this lead to complex research questions? Through visual material we tried to understand how meaning is communicated at multiple scales, in multiple dimensions and by different agents, especially the photographer. Here are visually exposed the challenges of each student’s research, experiences and ideas are illustrated, raising critical issues that will be later developed in each final thesis.
SPECTACLE AND IDENTITY:
1. Guan Min, “The New Rurality in China: Historical Villages under Tourism Investment,” Zhejian, China
2. Francesca Romana Forlini, “Preserving Domesticity,” Paris, France
COPY AND AUTHENTICITY:
3. Boya Guo, “Critical Copying in China,” Beijing, China
4. Hao Ding, “Authentic Life in the ‘Exotic Chinatown,’” Los Angeles, USA
CITY AND CULTURE:
5. Javier Ors Ausin, “(In)Formal, Learning from Dharavi,” Mumbai, India
6. Roseann T. Sijeeni, “Preconception of Cultural Heritage,” Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Preserving Domesticity
Francesca Romana Forlini
These pictures have been taken in the Parisian banlieue, both outside and inside grands ensembles, large housing complexes built from the 1950s onwards. Among them there J. Renaudie's Jean Hachette complex, the contemporary Lacaton and Vassal's project on Tour Bois le Prêtre and others. This series wants to capture the peculiar reality of contemporary housing interiors. To the city’s dynamism is opposed rest, physically manifested in the constellation of objects that populate the house. I call this “domestic heritage,” questioning whether it worth being preserved. Moreover, these photographs want to uncover the beauty of everyday life in the form of objects, furniture, memories, actions.
