GOTHENBURG N.B.
abstract 11/03

Gothenburg N.B.is s study of socio-political structures. The territory to be surveyed is urban space. The basic topic is a morphology of the visualisation of power fabrics, starting from a comparison of the social struggles of the 1960s and today.
As the project title suggests, we are refering to two distinct crystalization points:

- in Constant's New Babylon we can find the most important motives of the social, artistic and architectural movements of the 50ies and 60ies: the revolt against the disciplinary post-war order and fordist capitalism and their aesthetics. New Babylon brings together both the ideas of situationism and of urbanist utopias like Buckminster Fuller or Archigram.

- the protests against the EU-summit in Gothenburg in June 2001 exemplifies a number of protests in the last years, which themselves obviously are materializations of today's deep social conflicts. These conflicts taking place in Sweden, the role model of social consensus and the fordist welfarestate of the 20th century, exemplifies the global dimensions of the ongoing restorations.

Gothenburg N.B. is based to a large extent on numerous hours of interviews with local actvists. In extensive talks they share their personal experiences during and after the protests. These voices of the multitude draw a picture of the transformation of urban space and how power and suppression inscribe violently into the bodies of resistance.

The output of the project will be multi-layered: drawings, maps, 3d-models, texts, installations and a documentary film outline a crystal which reflects fragments of reality.