Spaces & Flows: Ninth International Conference on Urban and ExtraUrban Studies

Abstract

A city is a conceptual entity, shaped by the various incidents, stories, and anecdotes that flavor it towards being a unique place to reside in. This kind of amalgamation initiates the concept of cognitive mapping and how the physical, as well as the mental presence of a habitant, constructs the spirit of the place, also known as genius locus. Such interaction of the citizens, primarily in Karachi, my home-city, reflects on their social interaction with the architectural structures, which eventually makes them the foundation of the metropolitan city and solidifies art’s impact on it. This research led to creation of QR codes which, when decoded, present about 30 physiognomic profiles of the strangers who I have come across, each highlighting particular aspects of their complexion, clothes, features, body language and actions, thus celebrating these profiles and providing them a new habitat of sort. This paper includes selected prose and the process/reasons behind converting them into QR codes. Furthermore, it discusses how the codes were eventually converted into installations, one of which was in the First Karachi Biennale (October 2017), in which the public decoded while experiencing the installation, thus taking prose with them in their mobile phones. A discussion of their reactions and transcribed conversations with me and how those quotes created further public artworks is shared. Moreover, the exploration also reveals how blogging aided me to open dialogue of making conversations amongst strangers and eventually with the city.