Hostile infrastructure
The first work in a series of three participatory installations that invited people to wheel a wheelchair down a long strangely lit corridor that narrowed imperceptibly, creating an unforeseen challenge of navigation. Hostile Infrastructure premiered at Testing Grounds (VIC) in 2019 and was supported through the City Of Melbourne Arts Grants for Indivudals.
In form, a long tunnel was constructed from familiar building materials. An black, oversized exo-skeleton shielded a corridor painted with a subtle gradient (indigo to hot pink) that slowly changes with progression through the work. The corridor is lit from above by fluorescent batterns (controlled by micro-controllers) that animate rapidly on a nine minute loop.
Participants were invited to wheel themselves down the corridor in manual wheelchairs provided by the artist. As they made their way down the corridor the walls and ceiling closed in until the realisation dawned that their wheelchair wouldnt quite fit through the exit. At this point the participant had to make a decision, did they get out of the wheelchair and push it back, reverse awkwardly back down the corridor or did they push through, scraping some paint from the walls as they made their exit.
