Toronto artist/architect Adrian Blackwell presents a new instance of Model for a Public Space. Staged in the Reading Room, a students’ social space located in Hart House at the University of Toronto, Blackwell’s project is concerned with the inevitably knotted nature of public discourses. They intertwine, affect, antagonize, fold over themselves, and flee in different directions. Model for a Public Space [Knot] is a seating formation which reflects this structure of discourse in its physical arrangement. Consisting of a set of concentric bleachers, the installation provides singular locations for divergent perspectives while allowing a large number of people to sit and talk comfortably in close proximity to one another, The work considers both senses of the word “model” – it is at once a projective idea about how people relate to one another, and a temporary maquette. It acts as both an idea or diagram, and a material object, an experiment in the relation between form and social engagement. MPS [Knot] is part of extra-curricular: between art and pedagogy, an international conference exploring the relationship between art and education. It will be the site for various discussions taking place during the second phase of the conference titled, beyond institutions.

Adrian Blackwell is a visual artist and architectural and urban designer whose work has been exhibited at artist-run centres and museums across Canada.