DOMESTICITY VIII
December 8, 2020 – June 30, 2021

Kayu’s Lucie Fontaine Branch in Bali in collaboration with Project Etere [PE] is pleased to present its twelfth project, “Domesticity VIII,” an artistic intervention by Terence Gower on the first prototype by PE in Bali. This project is the eighth iteration of a series of exhibitions previously presented in Prague, Stockholm, Miami, New York and Bali, which deal with the relationship – or lack thereof – between contemporary art and domestic spaces; it also inaugurates the first of a series of collaborations between Kayu and PE, which consists of a series of site-specific exhibitions on the theme of the domestic, which investigates its connection to the notion of intimacy but also as a dynamic field for social and collective changes.

PE is an experimental and collaborative architectural project that attempts at synthesizing and connecting the seemingly disparate realms of real estate development, social impact and contemporary art. PE aims at connecting architecture, design, art and economy, shaping the environment with an ethical and sustainable approach and to formulate an alternative architectural development model that is informed by the careful observation of a specific urban fabric and its relationship with the social and cultural context that exists within it. The main idea of PE is essentially to select an abandoned, unfinished or “dormant” building in Bali, which suffers from real estate speculations. After mapping and scouting for potential project locations, PE identifies one of these “dormant buildings,” with the aim of renting the property from its Balinese owners in order to develop the existing structure following the principles of sustainability, social impact and craftsmanship, creating a new flow of ethically and mutually beneficial economy – a “win-win” situation. In this regard, the pursuit of the ideals of a “win-win economy” is driven by a sincere impulse to resist profit maximization strategies as a project operating in the field of real estate development; such impulse prioritizes the socio-cultural effects of a completed property rather than its overall monetary success.

The contractual control of each property will depend on the financial investments required by PE to design, build and increase the monetary value of the property for a contractual duration sufficient for a “return on investment” and moderate income. Following the completion of the aforementioned contractual agreement, the project will be returned to the owner’s family as a fully functional and rentable property, which will allow them to benefit from a long-term debt of passive income.

For the first project, PE has identified a property in Penestanan, which is part of Ubud. The property exists on the second floor of a pre-existing garage and room used for the creation of Balinese religious offerings and for the activities of the family that owns the property. The second floor, rented by PE, was in an unfinished state; it consisted of four columns and a Balinese-style roof. The business plan was chosen by PE team in harmony with the main economy of the area in which the property is located; in fact Penestanan is one of the most touristic areas of Ubud whose main economy is based on business hospitality.

Following such premises, Kayu invited Canadian artist Terence Gower to work in tandem with PE. Following collaborative thinking, the artist decides to intervene directly in the construction of the property, designing the balcony railing, the handrail of the spiral staircase and the main gate. All the visual elements of these interventions – made of metal and hand-welded by Balinese artisans – are based on data related to tourism in Bali; guests staying at the house will be able to see the increase in tourist flow on the island reflected in the positioning of the balustrades and in the graph of a curve installed in the balcony railing.

The aforementioned graph starts in the year 1975 and ends in the year 2025. The graph of the final 5 years, from 2020 till 2025, will be installed at the end of 2025 in accordance to the development of tourism in the area. In addition to that, Gower has drawn the initials of this first iteration “PE1” (which stands for “Project Etere #1”) on the gate of the premises.

The exhibition also features three Gower’s sketches installed within the Project Etere property. They are studies for his intervention at the property.

Terence Gower’s works are manifestations of the dialogue between art and architecture; based on investigations of present and historical junctions between modernity, abstraction and identity, Gower’s projects question the nature of buildings and their meaning, beyond their function, with a focus on and how “unrepresentative forms” – such as balconies, windows, roofs – can convey a message. Over the past decade, Gower’s practice has been devoted to a critical reinterpretation of Modernism and its utopian bent. His desire to reexamine the notion of progress – a term corrupted by the excesses of technological advancement – fueled his research on Postwar Architecture and led to creation of an archive featuring past models that may still be relevant today.

The intervention is visible by visiting the premises by appointment only. For more information, contact Lucie Fontaine’s employee in Bali kayu@luciefontaine.com