Transference: Framed Between Image & Installation

Abstract

This thesis describes the research conducted by colleague Max Irving-Lamb and myself with the aim of exploring individual and collaborative practice within the architectural discipline. We addressed the overarching theme of Transference as an agent of exchange within our collaborative practice. Transference being that action which controls the exchange of information between two states: change which occurs between past and present, transition from conceptual to constructed installation, progression from theoretical concept to materialisation in the public arena. To conduct our research we each developed individual methodologies for responding to lost buildings. I employed the device of interpreting site through the review of existing archival images. The research explored the reliance on photographic image as a method for documenting or remembering lost heritage. By using this information as the basis for replicating image in a three-dimensional model format, in the process demonstrating the efficacy of transference. By contrast, Max explored the generative ground between memory and reality, using drawing as a medium of expression. Our collaborative research resulted in a pair of installations that responded to two demolished buildings in Auckland City Centre. Rather than seeking reasons to justify their preservation, we looked for ways to temporarily highlight the subtle but undeniable effect that the demolition of ‘unremarkable’ buildings might have on the public. The research culminated in a final exhibition: No Happy Ending This Time, which reframed the collaborative body of work and allowed us to adopt a reflective perspective on our collaborative practice.