Notes on time

As stated by artist, ‘It is the smallest details in our architecture that help us to understand the built environment both historically and socially, every starch, crack or worn surface. Walls layer over time, strata of history within them. It is the repetitive nature of the routines we have and places we regularly visit that enable us to notice these things. Through the cumulation of our encounters, the soul of architecture and its historic fabric are made.’

Deanna Dowling’s site-specific intervention involves sanding away the layers of paint on the interior walls of The Booth, revealing the past treatment and history of the surface. This action mimics the gradual wearing down of surfaces through repetitive human touch, such as a well-used stair rail or the changing patina of a brass handle. Traces of interactions within lived spaces are revealed through this wear and tear, adding to a building’s layered history rather than being seen as material decay.

The Booth is open for proposals in an annual call. Read more about the space here.