PUBLIC SPACE WITH PRIVATE INTENTIONS

We believe that some public spaces should have private intentions. If the public space of the city appeals to a broad and normative public, such neutrality often works to expand some parts of the public realm while restricting others. Through the lenses of pleasure and the emotional relationships we forge with the spaces we share, this installation challenges tendencies towards “neutral” public space. It makes room for visibility and invisibility, trysts, assignation, and play.

"Public Space with Private Intentions'' is an extension of Utomhusverket 2022, a large-scale outdoor installation first presented at ArkDes, the Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design, in 2022. Utomhusverket is an annual testing ground that makes room for architects and designers to imagine new possibilities for public life. Following Bergh and Zachrisson’s exhibition at Alcova 2021, they have been commissioned to develop the project with their furniture series Seats System as a basis. For Alcova 2023, the duo have scaled up the furniture system into a spatial installation that has functioned as a public and performative space in Stockholm, and now lands in Milan.

Mira Bergh (b. 1993) and Josefin Zachrisson (b. 1994) have collaborated since they graduated from Beckmans College of Design in 2019. The duo is based between Milan and Stockholm and works across objects and installations, with a conceptual, and experimental approach. By questioning norms and acknowledging values beyond function, they aim to challenge preconceived notions in materials, contexts, and interactions. They are both a part of the art and design collective Swedish Girls.