Construction

Opposite the house which is being demolished (see last post), where only a poetic lampstand amongst the rubble remains, a building at the opposite end of its life cycle is being built, with a purpose, as a health centre. (not sure why image on its side, not artistic!)

This has got me thinking about what we build and why we build it. Much as I'd love to claim this was an architectural post it is, as ever, a social anthropological one.

The Sun
My office is in Wapping. It is normally a very bland, grey place full of middle-class nothingness. No drama, just Waitrose and a couple of flats built in old docks, used by commuters as part-time homes. But this week the Dock has been awash with film cameras, photographers and TV presenters, one of my colleagues even claims they saw Reggie Yates! All this hubbub in my usually grey environment is in response to one man and his workers. And it got me thinking about the story the Paparazzi would tell? How would they embellish or alter events? What version of the truth would they tell? How much is constructed?

Syrian Sunsets
This got me thinking about the ongoing conflict in Syria. Now I am not for a minute trying to suggest that what has happened in Syria is anything but terrible, nor that Assad is not some kind of tyrant. However, isn't the truth always more complicated than the headline? One of my friends is a Syrian national living out his life in Syria and you know, he does the same things now as he ever did before, he takes his kid to school, he meets friends for coffee. He is not in fear of his life. Yes, he feels sad that his country is not one, but he does not live life in fear. What do we lose by simplifying a narrative? This is something I've been considering in my work, thinking about PR and how we have to simplify a story to fit it in a word-count, what is lost in the edit? How does that change what we create, construct or build?

The Sun rises, it will also set.
Two buildings, on opposite sides of a street. One demolished because the ground below it proved unstable, one built to heal the sick. And I wonder have either ever read the story about the man who built his house upon the sand? Unless they've got lorries full of ballast they're in for a rough time of it!

What are you building? Where are its foundations? Do you trust the building won't fall down? And is all that you see merely a construction?

Exposure

In light of the increasing concern of individuals and corporates about privacy, exposure and vulnerability I thought I'd write a little post.

Facebook-face

The internet world got significantly rocked when facebook launched its 'timeline' layout because it seemed to leave more of our histories exposed to a wider range of people. Employers, especially but not exclusively in the digital world, have made it quite clear that they are using facebook to get a background history on applicants and the number of people caught out moaning about jobs, then facing the sack grows everyday.

Whilst posting about our teenage crushes at the time seemed cool, now it just seems embarrassing.

This poses some interesting questions about social media and exposure. We willingly post photographs, declarations and videos on the internet, we use it as a place to share lives with friends and family who might not be close enough to experience them first-hand. We willingly expose ourselves to those we trust. But what about the other people viewing the content, the public, the perverse, the political or just the unknown? When it is posted on the internet it is exposed in a way that may be impossible to reverse. Does that cause us to re-evaluate what goes online and why? Does it affect our ability to be vulnerable with those we love? And knowing your private internet world is, in fact, quite public might cause us to look on our pasts and what we choose to keep from them in a different light.

Undocumented Dancing

Last weekend I went clubbing. It was really fun. It was in Shoreditch and was a good night out. They do great cocktails. OK you want to know where it was, The Book Club. I went out with colleagues from work and it was good fun. About 11.30 we were dancing to some reggae (I know I'm thinking of this video too) and I suddenly noticed no-one in our group had a camera and you know, I was relieved. Its not that I was behaving badly but there was something liberating in knowing that all my silly dance-moves wouldn't be coming back to haunt me I was free to be vulnerable because I would not be exposed.

Amongst a generation of instant-documenters it was refreshing to think the only store of the evening was my own memory. And its a good memory.

Inside my living room

These photos are of a house on my commute to work. It is being demolished due to subsidence.

 It grabbed my attention immediately.

Don't you find it interesting how we can look directly into someone's living room. The initial shots reminded me of Blitz photos I've seen, a whole house sort of ripped in half.

We can see into all the rooms as if it were a doll's house, there is no privacy.
All is exposed.
This is particularly poignant from a social anthropology perspective, given as the Englishman's home is his castle, and the gate his drawbridge (good old Foxy!).

What makes you feel exposed? How much vulnerability is too much vulnerability? And what does knowledge have to do with exposure?