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[In]Visible Indentity
The paradox of Schiphol
Multiplicity & Visual Identities (2008)
Research project
~ongoing project~
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Intro
From January till November 2008 I'm participated in the postgraduate programme
Multiplicity & Visual Identities - Design research on multicultural hybrid societies.
This programm is initiated by Design2context - Institute for Design Research
(Department of Zurich University of the Arts).
Therefor I worked on a research project;
[In]Visible Indentity - The paradox of Schiphol
>>Multiplicity & Visual Identity
>>Multiplicity workspace
Focus
At first sight Schiphol Airport is a transport-zone. A public space where transporting
travellers from A to B is the main goal. Travellers are dominating Schiphol and therefore
functionality is the primary focus. Schiphol is a zero-friction-zone* due to it's design.
This design of avoiding friction and controlling fear makes Schiphol a ‘non-sticky place’.
Nothing is allowed to ‘stick’ or to develop in this place – no stories, no history is meant to find
a place to remain. Stories and happenings disappear together with the travellers who come and go.
The cleaning staffs at Schiphol Airport serve as a stable factor within the moving masses. They return every day.
In contrast to the travellers the cleaners can ‘inscribe’ themselves by their every day experience at Schiphol.
They are ‘story-collectors’ and ‘history-writers’. In other words – they are sticky-people.
At the same time they are the invisibles. In opposition to the visible side of Schiphol, which contains travellers,
tourists, shopping malls, visitors, there is an invisible backside that bears the real identity of Schiphol – behind the coulisses.
This project investigates the paradox of Schiphol’s identity;
the visible bears ‘non-identity’ and that what is intended to stay invisible behind the scene of this non-place
bears identity and history. A central question in this research is where identity and historical narratives
have their place in zero-friction zones such as Schiphol.
*In Search of Public Domain. Maarten Hajer & Arnold Reijndorp, NAI-Publishers, Rotterdam 2001
