Réservoir

by

Dennis Adams

Contesting Urban Spaces

Jim Drobnick: How does the eccentric architectural form of the work and its function as a public drinking fountain relate to the photographic image?

Dennis Adams: I began with the idea of constructing a public object in stereo. I wanted to frame this idea of a community divided between French and English. The two drinking fountains were very simply a response to that. I liked the fact that speaking and drinking are in opposition, that the voice is swallowed. At the centre of a language war I wanted to make a work of agit-prop that approached silence.

For me the photographic image functions as a third term, between the two drinking fountains. The photo is one that I took of a Mohawk covering the bottom part of his face with a camouflaged handkerchief. Of course, on one level, this image references the masked warriors at Oka. But the handkerchief is not tied around his face, it is only held in place. I hope that it feels more like he is covering his mouth than concealing his identity. I didn’t want the image to be militant. I wanted it to be more fragile. And it’s important for me that you can’t tell whether it’s a man or a woman.

The half-hexagon form of the kiosk was simply a way of holding this three-part structure together. However, it was important that the users of the fountains were excluded from the interior space and the image. This interior is conceived as a small room directly related to the scale of the body. And it is not unintentional that it is the perfect size for one person to sleep. Beyond this I want the kiosk to be situated against a larger building. I didn’t want it to feel freestanding. I was thinking of something more parasitic - like an annex, a foyer or a closet - something tied to the existing architecture, but other.

Excerpt from:

Contesting Urban Spaces

by Jim Drobnick

An interview with Dennis Adams

Parachute 68

October, November, December 1992, pages 47/48