| Think of your last job interview: was there a large chair and a small chair?
How were you positioned in relation to the interviewers? Was the building
imposing, even intimidating, and branded with corporate logos? This is the
architecture of power: human relationships governed by design. Langlands
& Bell, who have been collaborating since 1978, focus on such ideas in
their work.
Langlands & Bell offer us models, digital prints or (more recently) interactive
footage and photographs of a place or places. The work is presented in a neutral,
coolly analytical way — as specimens, opened up, revealing the relationships we
have with environments and systems.
The duo are perhaps best known for their beautifully made architectural models,
often shown under glass, embedded in purpose-built, lacquered wooden furniture
or arranged in groups around the gallery. Such works slice into the interiors of
powerful corporate headquarters. More idealistic architectural projects, such as
the utopian social housing of the modernist architect Le Corbusier, have also
been examined.
Some types of building have always been more than a way of keeping off the
rain. From temples and churches to retail developments, architecture has
throughout history filled us with awe of some greater power, or otherwise
influenced our movements, our behaviour — even our thoughts. 'We shape our
buildings,' said Langlands & Bell in an interview with Flash Art magazine in
1991, 'and thereafter they shape us.'
|
