Colin Keays

Department: Contextual Design
Website: www.colinkeays.com

‘Soon All This Will Be Picturesque Ruins’

What: This project tackles narratives that respond to issues of gentrification and the diminishing presence of queer space in cities.

Why: A tension between creation and destruction seems for some to be a necessary part of urban development. But in reality, it can play out as a violent process of exclusion of those that occupied the space before.

How: The installation documents a series of immersive performances which took place within a disused shed at a property in Eindhoven, soon to be redeveloped. After each of the four acts, the interior was fully renovated into a new spatial design, tracking different archetypal clichés associated with gentrification. Starting as a gay bar, the shed was transformed into a café, an Airbnb and a luxury property marketing event.

“‘Queer space’ can deconstruct and dismantle the destructive hierarchies associated with gentrification”