Urban Still Lifes (with mops and brooms): Beijing version + six minor works

RESEARCH BACKGROUND: The 'Urban Still Life (with mops and brooms): Beijing version' installation depicted an informal occupation of the public realm that lies outside of ownership and traditional property lines, and blurs the edges between public and private, civic and domestic. The project was conceived to be cumulative and comparative as it travelled to three Asian cities; local images were added in Beijing to those collected in previous exhibitions in Seoul and Melbourne. RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION: This work builds upon research in bottom-up or micro-urbanism strategies in the Asian city. It develops observational and participatory techniques to enable the general public to engage with urban design issues by contributing to the exhibition with text and images. This work marks a significant shift within Asia. Instead of looking to the West for solutions to contemporary urban design issues, this research proposes that Asia is now providing more appropriate models to deal with the complexity that is facing both eastern and western cities. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE: The project received funding support from VESKI (Victorian State Government: $20,000 for four exhibitions). It was exhibited by invitation in CU Space Gallery, the first architecture gallery in China in the prestigious 798 Art Zone. The exhibition and symposium were widely peer-reviewed on the web and in a Chinese architectural journal. As a result of this exhibition, Helsel was invited to develop this research in the curated 'Always on My Mind: Home' exhibition at the Museum of Art at Seoul National University with significant international grant funding.