Doorways and Alternatives
Generated Futures and Present Fictions
![Structured grid, ISO Section, possible spaces. Wall of Irony. van Niekerk,T. Unit 13. 2021.](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/b56783af312a72e4c0f91c8cc61827a990ff4f90ada2e61f54d87b4fc5270460/Image-00001.gif)
Landscape Ebru - Cloud and Water. Osman, F. Unit 13. 2021.
Fahmeeda Osman
BArch Hons 2021Supervisors:
Unit Leader: Claudia Morgado
Unit Tutor: Ruby Mungoshi
Unit Assistant: Azraa Gabru
UNIT 13︎︎︎
Second Nature | Shared Futures
The year’s work focuses on alternative viewpoints comprising heterogeneous cultural identities, heritage preservation and co-creative craftsmanship, to address the emotional, cultural, and practical needs of communities under threat of erasure or disappearance. Following this was my study of material culture. To a large extent, our pronouncements are still products of polarities or dichotomies, e.g., the global north, the global south, east and west, black and white. The recurring theme of questioning and disrupting global asymmetries of power in my work led me to Homi Bhaba’s post-colonial concept of a Third Space, primarily how it may manifest in a spatial, architectural manner.
By way of tangible cultural artifacts, I wanted to make visible Bhaba’s argument that ideas and influences do not have fixed boundaries. The focus was on exploring the third space theory through cultural craft making techniques and applying it to the border condition of Kashmir.
Since artisanal works are open to interpretation, tell more than one story and encourage us to look at the world from another angle, engaging the contested space through a broader lens, the aim was to dismantle the hierarchy and transform personal perspectives, which speaks to Bhabha’s (1994) idea of “emerging other than ourselves” or reflecting and learning about alternative perceptions.
“Each weaving is a liminal space which gives rise to something different, something new and unrecognisable, a new area of negotiation of meaning and representation.” In this “in-between” space, cultural identities and personal political standing are negotiated, and users are constantly in a state of becoming.
By way of tangible cultural artifacts, I wanted to make visible Bhaba’s argument that ideas and influences do not have fixed boundaries. The focus was on exploring the third space theory through cultural craft making techniques and applying it to the border condition of Kashmir.
Since artisanal works are open to interpretation, tell more than one story and encourage us to look at the world from another angle, engaging the contested space through a broader lens, the aim was to dismantle the hierarchy and transform personal perspectives, which speaks to Bhabha’s (1994) idea of “emerging other than ourselves” or reflecting and learning about alternative perceptions.
“Each weaving is a liminal space which gives rise to something different, something new and unrecognisable, a new area of negotiation of meaning and representation.” In this “in-between” space, cultural identities and personal political standing are negotiated, and users are constantly in a state of becoming.
![Hybrid Sari-Kimono. Osman, F. Unit 13. 2021](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9afc8be6e1abc8f813b5a156a57d1f6e7fa8f99c8d759ed8360b356f09067d33/Image00003-min.jpg)
![Loom as Site. Osman, F. Unit 13. 2021](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d56a9f365844592ffbabe97fbbdb94f09af5db49dbe98ed885f7bd1d5937dccb/Image00004-min.jpg)
![The Contested Space, Osman, F. Unit 13. 2021.](https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8f5a0748f0eb5688bf2b1779af5c99a8df041c182808789c42d856a7fcc3094d/Image00006-min.jpg)
Keywords:
Hybridity, Heritage Preservation, Co-creative craftsmanship, Narratives, Entanglement, Alternative Perceptions
Hybridity, Heritage Preservation, Co-creative craftsmanship, Narratives, Entanglement, Alternative Perceptions
Contact
Fahmeeda Osman:
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