PROTOHOME was conceived as a project to test how through remaking the city we can remake ourselves in the process. How building and physically marking the city can trigger both an individual process of learning and imagining. The premise for Protohome is not so much about creating a finished ‘product’ in the form of a prototype house, but instead lies in the process of becoming that both the house and the people who have made it have gone through. for the individuals involved in the project who have experienced homelessness and are members of crisis, the national charity for single homelessness, building has been a learning process, one that has sometimes been therapeutic and has helped to build confidence.
Within the publication associated with PROTOHOME, several writers, artists and other media producers were asked to contribute their own thoughts towards the built environment. Two of these composers/writers submitted written pieces for the publication which I found interesting for their differing opinions on building homes and the built environment as they perceive it.
Jeff Young
In his book ghost towns, young takes a journey through the Liverpool of his childhood - down back alleys and through arcades, into vanished tenements and oyster bars, strip tease pubs and theatres. Along the way he conjures ghosts and puts hexes on the developers who’ve ruined the city of his dreams.
Martin Heslop
Heslop is a composer, writer and sound artist based in Newcastle Upon Tyne. He collaborates across art forms, with poets, playwrights, film makers, visual artists, composers, actors and dramaturgs. He has written words and music for publication, for release on record and for performance.
Own representation:
Below is the spoken word piece that I had written to accompany the audio-visual representation of the Ouseburn which was presented as part of the interim review. This will be the starting point for the manifesto which I will write to provide a basis for the project’s declaration in the coming weeks.
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