Louise Gholam

Department: Man and Leisure
Website: louisegholam.com

Safety Dummy

What: A series that mimics the defensive equipment placed in city streets as protection.

Why: Terrorist attacks in Western cities have led to a drastic increase in defensive street architecture, commonly defined as ‘securityscapes’. Yet, does militarising our public spaces help us feel safe or does it make us even more fearful, heightening our sense of an impending threat?

How: Louise Gholam mapped the defensive devices currently placed along the Champs Élysées in Paris such as CCTV cameras disguised as streetlights, concrete barriers and metal bollards. She made her own softer versions, turning them into subversive ‘toys’. Her aim? To place these new designs on the streets and spark a much-needed dialogue.

“We’re filling our cities with obsolete symbols of protection”