Menucha Tatarka

A glimpse into my study on seating in Prato and it's surrounds. Throughout my exchange program I had the opportunity to engage in aspects of Italian life, what it is to sit on a sunny afternoon enjoying a panini or on the corner at the tabbachi downing the third espresso of the day. I chose to focus in on the particular social environment created by the placement of chairs, outward to the street, allowing for an ease of communication and connection between people. I centred my process on studying and recreating this through crates found discarded outside at the market and local delis.

In this age, it is becoming more difficult to reflect clearly. We tend to overcomplicate experiences with conflicting imagery. Separating an experience from its documentation is becoming increasingly difficult, and the lines between the digital world and the human experience are blurred. What does it really mean to remember?

This journal blurs the line between documented and recalled. Wedging itself between truth and possibility. All images are taken with my pink digital camera, which, only made appearances when the moment was ‘good enough. I manipulated imagery using AI to fill in the gaps of moments that may have been.

Set within a conceptual radical commune based in Fitzroy Gardens this rest and recovery hub services occupants and visitors. Designed with the intention of facilitating a sensory space away from the main event where users can find medical, mental and community aid. Each of the designated structures as well as their surrounds provide a particular form of care whether it be time spent in solitude or a comfortable place to sit and connect with others.

Visual documentary of excursion into the Milan Metro Tunnels, collection of footage taken on a handycam.

View full video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqSsUTTzgsg

My studio delved into the Mandala Queer Commune founded near Uki NSW in the 1973, studying it's purpose built structures which were particularly in tune with their forested environment. Constructed predominantly with timber, bamboo and stone.

Using surviving images my chosen structure were the sheds, without a described particular purpose in the commune. Through my own intervention i designed the interior as a residence for a community member, using the outdoor deck for seating and meditation. This space is outfitted with a modular bed, bookshelf, coffee table alongside multiple carpets to soften the timber floor.