XL Travelogue
XS Manifestos
Meditation on the Contemporary City
Pen on paper, 50X70cm (XS) & 30X42cm each (XL)
Waseda University Tokyo—Aug 2016
‘XL Travelogue, XS Manifestos: Meditations on the Contemporary City’ showcases a visual travelogue created in the frame of the Bezalel Academy Architecture Department's — Tokyo Summer Course. The travelogue conducted during the Aug-Sep 2016 continuesthe tradition of ‘pedagogic journeys’ (the legacy of the ‘Grand Tour’, Bruno Taut’s journey in Japan, the exploratory journey of Colin Rowe in Italy etc.) and allows a new reading of the spatiality of Tokyo and other Japanese areas visited by the both of us during the course. The projects exists out of two principal series: the XL and the XS.
Firstly, the XL series, existing out of the 29 globes organised in a grid, is the result of the coming together of two hands. Considered as a visual narrative of two foreigners in unknown territory, the story is an attempt of grasping the present time and space during the voyage and depicts the superposition and accumulation of content and memories. The personal interpretation of an alienated ‘now’ is confronted with the extra-large collective perception of reality.
Secondly, the hand drawn XS series, complements the ‘XL Travelogue’. The extra-small series exists out of 11 isometric manifestos which comment on situations that occurred repeatedly throughout our stay in Japan. They seek to address multiple observed social manifestations and controversies which are highly-present in society such as: loneliness, crowdedness, alienation, familiarity, exoticism and proximity.
XL Travelogue
Drawing of the Year 2017
First Prize
‘Drawing of The Year’ is an international student competitionorganized by the Aarhus School of Architecture in Denmark. In 2017, the fifth joint venture of this competition was held with as theme ‘Everyday Utopia’. 234 architecture students from around the world submitted drawingsfor the competition. The drawing depicting the XL series of the 29 spheres was granted with the first prize for a drawing where everyday experiences are composed into everyday utopia. The jury mentioned:
"29 globes organized in a grid depict the numerous possibilities of organizing buildings, animals, and people that create our life and surroundings. Everyday experiences are composed into everyday utopia. The drawing is well composed and works in different scales - from a distance and close up, where the rich details can be explored. Playful and artistic it connects content, message, and illustration into a strong, beautiful drawing. It is open-minded and open-ended. We imagine that the two people on the final globe only went to sleep to wake to continue the story."
XS Manifestos
