The book collects 18 contributions exploring the notion of the ‘bubble’ – a symbol of our personalized mental and social landscapes, where collisions with different realities shape our perceptions, biases, and responses. The collected essays include explorations by the nine artists who participated with their works in the group exhibition "Mellan tillhörighet och uppbrott: Spåra bubblor" (Bergsjöns Konsthall, 2022), as well as reflections by seven external interdisciplinary practitioners: Anki Ebonsdotter, Kerstin Bergendal, Azadeh Esmaili Zaghi, Amanda Karlsson, Dawn Wong, Sandi Hilal, Kim Engdahl, Siri Landgren, Gloria López, MC Coble, Åke Sjöberg, Imri Sandström, Paula Urbano, Sifen Wibell, Elin Wikström, and Kasia Michnik. The book is edited by Reyhaneh Mirijahani.
The eassy is the reflection of the mapping project with the local children in Bergsjön, “Voices Travelling Through Maps" is presented on p.27-37.
You may read my eassy here:
When I first encountered the curatorial theme of the bubble, spontaneously it sparked my association of the space between instinctive survival mechanism, healing and growing opportunities from pre-understanding of the world.
Through this idea I was attempting to explore artistic methods of witnessing participation, non-judgemental artistic narration in a playful approach. Within the context and framework of Bergsjön Kulturstålket, the artistic process would potentially bring an awareness of the inter-relation between (individual, collective, social-political) wounds and boundaries of urban segregation. / wounds and disconnection of urban spaces.
As an artist and designer who works with participation processes in public space context and play environments with and for children, maps have always been a critical tool and agency for me to communicate with different actors, including participants (the children) and the commissioner (the stakeholders and decision makers).
By zooming out and scaling the space into a manageable size, bringing people together and forming a circle around the map either on the table or on the floor, zooming in again and pointing at subjects that matter to different participants. The setting carries capacities to talk and unfold the layers of the space, including physical animated objects, bodily senses, perceptions, anticipations and the imaginary.
Each individual carries our own feelings, reflects them in the built environment, and other ways around. At the same time, each map, no matter in what kind of format, analog or digital alike, is like a bubble, a representation that involves unique understandings, interpretations and ways of expressions of the person and/or the group who conceptualised and created the map. For me, it is not about good or bad, right against wrong, rather the map serves as a tool for storytelling of the space in specific time. Through all the signs and compositions, it shows us the intangible experiences and first hand perspective of the map makers, which may not be easily acquired through social norms, media and such. Therefore I facilitated treasure map making workshops in two school classes in Bergsjönskolan, step by step indicating different layers of the neighbourhood, from the measurable to the non-measurable valuables, from the physical boundaries to the intangible mental landscape of everyday life.
Let me take an example of one of the pupils in Bergsjönskolan, in the middle of the workshop as I walked through different groups and had a conversation with the pupils, a girl came to me, she said “I have something very important to tell you.” She emphasised that many people say there is lots of crime and that it’s not a safe place in Bergsjön. “But it's not true for me! Actually I feel safe living here.” She further explained it only feels not so safe when it is dark at night, and howsoever people who live in Bergsjön help each other. I recalled when I was interviewing a 19 years old girl in Kulturhuset, the uniqueness of Bergjon to her is the sense of community, the bond between different local people and people could get together.
For me, this is a valuable pieces of realities, this is the treasure of a space, not because of the sense of community being a positive attribute when you talk about social facilities, rather the authentic voices and expressions from the children who live and grow up in that space, a perspective other than criminal statistic from the police office, or the population data such as incomes and educational levels from the municipality, or any judgement from people who have ever visit or be at Bergsjön. These voices have weight, not heavy or light, having their own power in their own right to be heard, having their own place that belongs. Participants voices that are prospects to be heard and further (re)create.
To contemplate the relationship between bubbles and the process of this project, I realise that compared to recognising similarities between groups, being preoccupied by the differences seems to be an instinctive survival reaction in social discourse. It is easier to place judgement than to listen and accept another perspective and realities outside of our own belief system. Placing judgement means I am right, it is safe in my own bubble. I assume or heard they are different or problematic, so they are.
At a certain point, assumption does not require much effort and responsibilities. However, to accept we are both different and the same at the same time, requires a sense of security and sincere listening. Again this is not about either this or that, right or left, for me it is more about a ground for a total sum. We all live in our own bubble, each individual has their own rituals, habits and beliefs, but no matter how different we act and live, we are all vulnerable, we are all part of a system or a bigger bubble, we dwell in the same space, share the same planet. Does categorising and rejecting different social, political entities help forging a fair connected society?
During the process one of the participants from Bergsjönskolan was very engaged with the project, he would take all the possible chances to speak for himself, including participating in another workshop which took place at Kulturhuset after school time. In that workshop, I placed a much bigger base map on the floor in the middle of the activity room in Kulturhuset. It was a drop in workshop but we sat side by side on the floor around the map, the children could either just talk or draw and talk at the same time. Our conversation did not start with “what do you want or wish for in Bergsjön?” We just talked about daily life, what he usually does, how it feels to live here, what the neighbourhood means to him and such. Until the participant children naturally come up with their ideas of how they would like the neighbourhood to be.
So the boy told me about his daily activities after school, like playing football and visiting Kulturhuset. He also stressed a lot on the needs of more social space for children, at the beginning I didn’t understand why, until he further explained it is common that children who live in this area don’t have their own private space. During our conversation, he has an understanding of the difficulties on getting a new second hand contract apartment in bigger size, he also knows the inflating market, that he has to find other ways to make sure his daily lives is not “boring” by hopping there are more meeting space and activities for children in the neighbourhood, so he could enjoy his spare time after school. At the end of the workshop, he kept asking me if I can implement his suggested ideas, including sending out activities information to children’s home, having more dialog opportunities that adult would listen to children's thoughts and ideas, setting up activities that children in Bergsjön could meet up with children from other neighbourhoods, and all children have opportunities to play and do activities. I honestly told him the truth, I am just a listener and someone who facilitates and gathers perspective without judgement, someone who bridges the connection, but I promised him I will spread the words to those who have power to make decisions and implement. After the exhibition ended, I managed to set up a meeting between Kulturhuset and the boy. There are some arrangements specifically responding to the ideas listed above, the boy left the meeting with a smile and ran up to the ceramic workshop. Changes are taking place in its flow, step by step through this journey.
This journey has not reached its own destination yet, despite the project's end. New enquiries, new bubbles are surfacing up in the field of wonders. Does participation mean solely that the participants get what they wish for in their neighbourhoods? When the decision makers send somebody to the local people by asking what do you want, does that really mean participation or being inclusive? Especially since the “Barnkonventionen” has become law in Sweden, would we easily be trapped into bureaucracy bubbles, unconsciously surviving from the checklist kind of children's participation? We do it because we have to without a heart of listening and true acceptance.
A voice does not sound without being heard and received. In between the gaps of different realities and worldviews, we need space where the childrens (and adults) voices are being heard and valued. Children participation is not about playgrounds and candies, the core is about the belongings of the participants, which have their own right on having opportunities that the participants' own actions and involvement to open up possibilities of changes.
If there is something deeper than a wish list kind of customer - service relationship, a kind of inter-relationship between different actors and participants and the space/ place, the bond and the connection that is somehow strengthened through the activities of the participants process, cultivate a stronger sense of belonging. A common ground and a collision for each individual's own sensations, emotion’s qualities, own understanding and narrative, where it is allowing and enabling changes naturally, like a natural healing process from a bubble blister.
Throughout history, maps have often been used for setting borders between countries/ states, or public/ private. It is my humble tiny aspiration to use maps for building a world beyond boundaries.
#mapping #urban #dialog #narrative #urbanmapping #barnkultur #childculture #neighbourhood #senseofbelonging #community #bubble #boundies #sensationalmapping
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