FMP Padlet by Matthew Amos https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5 en-us 2023-03-06 12:45:41 UTC 2025-05-19 18:26:28 UTC hello@padlet.com 1. What places prompt the feeling of placelessness- are clone towns a good example? How can I make the audience feel unanchored in a space? mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505085004 My work throughout the year has been investigating the subject of psychogeography, a term coined by Marxist theorist Guy Debord in 1955 describing the effect of a location on our emotions and behaviours, inspired by Charles Baudelaire’s concept of the flâneur – an urban wanderer. 
Psychogeogrpahy is a playful and inventive way of navigating the urban environment in order to examine its architecture and spaces.

 It links to my interest in urban spaces, in particular place characteristics and our individual sense of place. I have been focusing  the urban walking practice the derive where we drop our everyday relationships with places and let ourselves be drawn to the unique encounters that we find there such as an inviting street or architecture. 

I'm currently reading The Language of Cities by Deyan Sudjic which has given me a potential starting point for my FMP. It  looks at the factors that make cities what they are and also points to the fact that globalisation is eroding place character thus leading to the creation of homogeneous cities which can make us feel placelessness. One such example is 'clone towns' where the individuality of the high street has been eroded and looks identikit to others due tot the surge in the number of chain stores.  It lacks genius loci (spirit of a place) due to the lack of uniqueness. 

I want to explore placelessness and how encounters with such spaces make us feel unanchored due to being devoid of a relationship. Does lived experience in a place can help shift us from feeling placelessness to having a strong sense of place?]]> 2023-03-06 12:46:16 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505085004 Clone Town Britain mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505086439 The report is based upon a 2004 survey conducted by the New Economics Foundation looking into how globalisation, among other factors, is causing the decline of a diverse high street leaving us with soulless shopping districts which could be anywhere. Town centres that have undergone regeneration often lose their distinct facades under the glass, steel and concrete dulness of chain stores. 

I'm interested in how clone towns have affected the lived experiences of people. I want to explore the ghost communities which are left behind due to having few or no services left. I'm interest in how I can present disconnection to a place that we used to have a strong relationship with. ]]> 2023-03-06 12:47:39 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505086439 Edward Relph- Place and Placelessness mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505088307 Edward Relph's book Place and Placelessness looks at the idea of insideness and outsideness which I can use to understand the feeling of placelessness. If a person is an insider they feel a strong sense of belonging whilst an outsider feels some sort of lived division or separation between themselves and world. A person moving to a new place may experience alienation due to the physical environment being different or not knowing the cultural/social norms, particularly if they are a minority. 

He also suggested that authentic sense of place is being replaced by a forged sense of place. Standardised landscapes with no uniqueness to them allows placelessness to manifest. Chain stores and airports could be anywhere. This leads onto the idea of repetition of these identical places as a way of making the audience feel disorientated and unconnected to a specific place due tot the lack of individuality. ]]> 2023-03-06 12:49:06 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505088307 Déjà Vu that comes with identical places mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505089152 The article explains how globalisation is eradicating local norms creating identical places. It gives an example given by the author where he woke up in a hotel which felt familiar yet he had never stayed in before. ]]> 2023-03-06 12:49:45 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505089152 Representing Placelessness in Literature, Media and Culture mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505092118 This report starts by looking at the internet as a means of being unanchored. Up until now I have been looking at physical places but  over the last two decades cyberspace has created new possibilities in creating places and disconnecting ourselves from the real world. ]]> 2023-03-06 12:52:13 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505092118 Suburban housing mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505096727 Copy and pasting of housing is common sight across the UK. They incorporate little detailing to differentiate them from others. Without the road-sign or postcode you could be anywhere. Is there a point in which repetition becomes too overwhelming and lose our sense of belonging?]]> 2023-03-06 12:55:57 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505096727 2. Mick yates: Photographer exploring Placelessness mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505097775 How human experience defines place not physical characteristics. The term 'non place' would usually be applied to locations he photographs as they are settings in which we pass through rather than actively experience. However, he  defines these as places due to spending time in them in his youth. Taking photographs allow personal memories to re-emerge but we as an audience wouldn't have the same connection.]]> 2023-03-06 12:56:49 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505097775 Shahpour Pouyan- My Place is the Placeless mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505098779 Explores lack of attachment to a specific place. The Iranian artist took a DNA test and translated the results into ceramic sculptures. ]]> 2023-03-06 12:57:30 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505098779 Marissa Lee Benedict & David Rueter, Sarah Rothberg: Placelessness mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505099673 Immersive installations invite visitors to oscillate between actual and perceived places, perplexing them into what is reality and what isn't. There isn't a 'true' place to hook onto. ]]> 2023-03-06 12:58:14 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505099673 Atopia – Migration, Heritage and Placelessness. mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505100479 Atopia is a Greek word used in medicine and philosophy translating as placelessness, out of place and unclassifiable. The exhibition showcases how artists explore not belonging to a fixed location, cultural ambiguity and the dilemmas which result.]]> 2023-03-06 12:58:53 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505100479 Jason Reitman's film Up in the Air (2009 film) mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505101262 Shows an extreme example of placelessness, looking at how people with a high rate of air travel feel disconnected from any fixed location which can affect managing their personal lives at home.]]> 2023-03-06 12:59:30 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505101262 The placelessness of airports mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505102063 2023-03-06 13:00:02 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505102063 Creating situations, how we engage with spaces mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505103716 There is a parallel of being engulfed in the gallery space but being focused upon a singular object which can make us feel disconnected from the wold around us. ]]> 2023-03-06 13:01:20 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505103716 Rachel Whiteread 'House' mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505106714 The house is a visual representation of a place that no longer exists. It links to placelessness as it is a familiar architectural form but devoid of purpose. Past residents returning would find the area unrecognisable with only a concrete shell to suggest what's happened. They may feel disconnected due to the loss of landmarks to anchor onto. 

It can also suggest placeless as the sculpture is of a terraced house, common to many towns thus representative of almost anywhere. ]]> 2023-03-06 13:03:32 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505106714 Eva Clifford- Walking and the mind mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505107735 How wandering can make us feel more connected to a place.]]> 2023-03-06 13:04:18 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505107735 How placelessness can occur mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505108431 The first is when the built fabric of the environment fails to provide places in which we can build deep emotional attachment. The second is the potential to have random encounters. ]]> 2023-03-06 13:04:53 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505108431 Gilbert Munger: Quest for Distinction, looking at placelessness in American Life mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505109228 Paintings are hazy reflecting faint memories had in the places lived in. The narrative gets lost as the works are disjointed due to being in so many locations and of different styles. The artist was constantly on the move, losing what it means to be 'at home'.]]> 2023-03-06 13:05:30 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505109228 Shuang Li- Lord of the Flies (2021) mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505109957 Artist experienced placelessness due to not being able to return home since 2020 and not having a permanent studio space. Her work reflects the lack of belonging to a place and culture. 

She remotely trained twenty performers to follow a script investigating the absence of human presence which came out of the pandemic where we were deprived of interpersonal relationships which can make us feel detached from a place. The performers became robots having no control to make conversation or explore thus not building strong relationships with surroundings. 

Performance is an area I want to take forward as a way of fully immersing an audience into feeling unanchored- they become active participants rather than spectators.  
]]> 2023-03-06 13:06:06 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505109957 Sara Ahli- Placeless Place mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505110781 Uses sculpture to connect and isolate forms from their environment. Aims to create a feeling of displacement.]]> 2023-03-06 13:06:41 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505110781 Art collective Stovington23, making Art in 'Placeless' Places mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505112133 Put street art in the public domain to question 'who owns public space' and 'who has the right to leave visual marks in it'. It links to placelessness as whilst we can visibly see and be in them they are privately owned and heavily guarded. Spacial injustice means we don't form a close bond with it- for functional use rather than space for us to interact in. 

Stencils create a dialogue with the environment, expressing how we live, rather than just passively consuming (as shoppers, or as viewers).  It can be seen as a way of re-connecting us to local communities. ]]> 2023-03-06 13:07:38 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505112133 Francis Alÿs- Fitzroy Square mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505113617 Circles a private garden- we are outsiders and strangers to that place. Can we really build a connection to the space if we are unaccepted in it?]]> 2023-03-06 13:08:46 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505113617 Katarzyna Coleman exhibitin, Mandells Gallery, Norwich mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505114353 Monochrome pallet of her works reflects the bleak landscape outside her studio. The decay of the industrial buildings are unique adjacent to the busy seaside town of Great Yarmouth yet is a scene replicated in many towns facing deindustrialisation. ]]> 2023-03-06 13:09:23 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505114353 3. Rush hour, Waterloo station mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505118923 My first piece of work in the inquiry into psychogeography was a series of charcoal drawings titled 'Rush Hour' taking the audience on a journey and feel the stress which many commuters experience. I used charcoal due to the immediacy of capturing movement. I'm particularly happy with Waterloo Station as it succesfully created an overwhelming sensation. 

A train station is an example of where we experience placelessness as they are points of transit and nothing more. It is highly functional with predetermined procedures- correspondeding with machines or people fulfilling job roles rather than unique individuals. They don't allow humans time to establish relations to place and fellow humans just become obstacles. This coexistence without interaction makes it a non place and something I want to research further in regards what makes us experience placelessness.

Charcoal is a material I have mastered on the course and could use in my FMP as a way of creating larger works to engulf the audience to feel a real sense of being unanchored.

I also want to experiment with photography as up until now I have ben using it to factually document the world around me. Leading on from this, I want to make more abstract work.]]> 2023-03-06 13:12:29 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505118923 mtthwms https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505830082 2023-03-06 21:30:43 UTC https://padlet.com/mtthwms/3en5vbz5yygd7wc5/wish/2505830082