Arnaud Elfort (Survival Group) & Eden Morfaux: Block

WUNDERLAND SERIE 2009

The shadow cast by a luxurious one-story model condo, which advertises a life of extravagance, takes form in a black, monolithic Block-construction across the street. The sculpture brings to light the ‹dark side› that lurks beneath the facade of luxury and private property.
On the Block, nameless, architectural phenomena are showcased: edificial devices attached to public objects to discourage people from using, sitting or leaning on them. They are employed at the entranceways of houses and subways, in front of shop windows, or on any reachable part of an institutional building. They illustrate attempts to protect private property and accentuate the architectural requirements for existing in public space.
Morfaux and Elfort attach sculpted replicas of a variety of these readymade forms on the voluminous Block. Without an entrance, it is impenetrable and allows itself only to be observed. It is a passive aggressive monument, compelled by the dubious reasoning behind urban anti-spaces, and makes the perfect (anti)-statement for the democratic use of space.