Private Places
Inspired by Yi-Fu's concept of the experiential perspective, I spent a week in a gated community in Hawai’i, called Hali’I Kai, gathering source material and imagery for this new body of work, Fortress. This experience allowed me to frame the questions around the darker side of utopia. Looking at the impulse toward fantasy and perfectionism, I focus my gaze on the places where these ideas get played out. Neo-communal entities, self-segregated lifestyle communities, gated communities, malls, golf/leisure communities, home-owner’s associations, and gated new towns are all locations from which I draw inspiration. At the heart of this project I ask, “who and what get excluded as we put up the gates and fortify the boundaries, and at what cost to ourselves and society?”