As the world is moving into a post-pandemic time, museums are finally resuming their work under strict social distancing and health measures. Arc en rêve d’Architecture in Bordeaux, France has reopened its main gallery with an exhibition by Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoine, entitled Homo Urbanus. Shown for the first time in its complete version, the exposition offers a vibrant tribute to public spaces.
Creating a journey around the world (10 cities, 10 films, 10 hours), Homo Urbanus is an invitation to observe the complex relationship of humans and the built environment. Designed by Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoine, the 480 m² exhibition, displayed from July 4 to October 11, 2020, takes place in 6 rooms, over 5 screens. It actually consists of 10 films showcasing 10 hours of footage from 10 cities.
“After the trying constraints of lockdown and social distancing that brutally reduced urban space to its strict minimum, making it into a place where isolated individuals merely cohabit, Homo Urbanus is a cinematic odyssey offering a vibrant tribute to what we have been most cruelly deprived of: namely, public space”, states Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoine. Putting the urban man under the microscope and encouraging us to take a closer look at individual and collective behavior, Homo Urbanus underlines “interpersonal dynamics, social tensions, and the economic and political forces that play out every day on the grand stage of the city streets”.
In addition, based on their personal ongoing film and research project, Bêka & Lemoine have been leading this year a Diploma unit at the AA - Architectural Association School in London, together with Gili Merin, under the title of “Homo Urbanus. Laboratory for sensitive observers”. The film-based Diploma unit working at the crossroads of social sciences and visual arts encourages students to engage “with in-depth observation of social life, individual and collective behaviors in public space in order to question the infinite forms of interactions between human beings and their daily urban environment”. Check the films here.
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