Exhibitionist

Interior installation competition for Performa, New York, 2016

Exhibitionist is an extroverted version of Performa architecture, a protagonist, a character that makes its presence known.

Exhibitionist does everything, while leaving the space itself barely touched, so that the existing walls can be used for exhibiting art work. At the front, Exhibitionist is a sign (without affecting the glass)…it becomes a reception desk, a wall, a projection screen, (which flips to become a table) and a kitchenette/back bar. The weaving form creates three distinct but joinable spaces – a front/reception space, an auditorium space, and a practice space. By rotating the orientation of the space by 15 degrees, a better seating/audience proportion can be achieved. The form snakes through the space very specifically measuring dimensions for egress and access.

80 stools are produced for seating in the main space. The material is that is left over from the stools’ cut-file is used to make the skin. Comprising of a double layer with internal structure and lighting between the layers, Exhibitionist registers the space’s activity by its porosity and draws the public in from the street via the reflected red light emanating from the skin, and glimpses through the perforations at the performers. The flexibility of the space creates multiple opportunities / events, and adds to the "size of the space."

The concept underscores CODA’s commitment to architecture enacted and activated by users, and to material cleverness and mis-use. Flexible, yet present, Exhibitionist makes architecture a part of Performa’s cultural agenda, not just a setting for it.