During the research and workshop residency "Bufferzone" organized by Apartment Project in Istanbul and Cyprus in spring 2013, we traced different manifestations of the European outer borders. We explored aesthetic research strategies within urban territories troubled by segregation, displacement and unresolved issues from military and political conflict (in Cyprus).
Two aesthetic inquiries we followed:
1. Peering at holes made and used by illegalized / migrant pedestrians in fenced up urban areas, mapping them.
2. Peering holes into military border structures while drawing where taking photos or video is forbidden.
Before deciding on the two "peerings" we engaged in many briefer and longer research detours within the Bufferzone program. Some extracts shown on top of this page document this. Central for us was the question how we can achieve to not only think and make notes about the political issues but bring it into a public and more visible form which can transport the research into different realms.
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| Notes on discussions about segregating urban planning strategies, Caspar Pauli |
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| Nicosia's medieval city wall also divided, some mapping attempts, Birgit Auf der Lauer |
1. Peering at holes made and used by illegalized / migrant pedestrians in fenced up urban areas, mapping them.
2. Peering holes into military border structures while drawing where taking photos or video is forbidden.
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| Exploration with Apartment Project, Istanbul, March 2013 |
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| Image: Özgür Demirci, Istanbul 2013 |
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Image: Selda Asal, Nicosia 2013     ink on transparent paper (21cm x 29,7 cm) created in Cyprus 2013 |
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| Images above, installation of drawings (1,90 x 1m) at Apartment Project Berlin, photography and gif animation: Paul Holdsworth & Daniela Garcia del Pomar, 2013 
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