I Was Here

08-02-21 The idea for this project came about during the seminar ‘Public Space Invaders’, during which I helped design this concept. Initially we wanted to combine a physical public space with a ‘digital public space’ in some way. I was very intrigued by the idea of a webpage as a public space. The internet is very special as a public space, because while access to physical public spaces is limited to locals and people willing to travel there, anyone with an internet connection can instantly visit a digital public space.

A public space is defined as “a place accessible to all citizens, for their use and enjoyment”, while a private space is defined as “open to those permitted by law or custom.” While at first most websites seem to fall under the definition of public space, many websites feature Terms of Service longer than the U.S Constitution, detailing exactly what users are allowed to do, and what the website doesn’t allow.

For this project I wanted to create a true public space online. Users can place a message anywhere, completely anonymous. Messages stay up indefinitely, but fade into invisibility over time, until they are almost illegible. A big inspiration were the toilet doors at our school building; The doors are covered in drawings and written messages by students, creating a collective artwork by all the students.

One of the things that make art in public spaces so special is the collaboration between artist and community:

Interactive work produced in a public space is usually based on “implicitly or explicitly shared meanings between the artist and the community, and consists of actions or works executed on behalf of the community as a whole,”