Staring. Or Retreating into Inner Space

There is something remarkable about focusing your attention on an object. Staring thus reveals a whole aura of the object, a bridal veil, which, when removed, reveals a miraculous understanding of its properties. This union of the gaze with the object takes place especially in moments of respite. A suspension of time is needed to provoke the persistence of a single action. We have, we admit, the pretext of an isolation that conditions such circumstance, which multiplied in a limited space propose a new awareness of our perception of it. We thus realise its relation to us, our own relation to the objects around us, and the capacity of a space to be structured in accordance with our human behaviour. The effect that a space has on us goes beyond its mere functionality. In isolation (such as that imposed by the SARS – CoV-2 virus pandemic) we understand perhaps more clearly the need for a sense of belonging to a place, and the importance of its function of representing us.

The repetition of the actions that we perform in a given space can give evidence of its very spatial coherence. These are the premises, and the emphasis does not naturally fall on the possibility of a space to duplicate, but on the contrary, to adhere to a singular identity. The intention is not to make an apology for unity but rather to understand the burden of a versatility of space in the sense that it can assert characteristics of an inconsequential and undecided space. The failure of a space to define itself clearlybrings with it its subsequent inability to be appropriated, or otherwise, to create harmonious connections with its inhabitants.