Metropolis is a realisation that these interrupted journeys are an everyday occurrence, everywhere.
“An unexpected flight of stairs when promised a ramp, a broken lift at a train station, an accessible bathroom in the basement with no way to get down there.”
“Occurrences so every day, so often unnoticed by those who have the privilege, in a city made by those people, full of those people, for those people,” Rachel said.
Across two years and several stages, Rachel worked with 200 RMIT students to bring her concept to life, guided by the principle “notice the marks you make.”
“My intention going into this project was to create a connection and belonging with the students through creativity.”
The first stage invited students who identified as being part of the Deaf and Disabled community to immerse themselves in a room on the City campus that had been covered in calico. They used paint to create marks with their whole bodies, documenting their movements in an explosion of colour.
Reflecting on the experience, one student said the environment gave them freedom they’d not experienced.
“At first, it was confronting to be in an environment where I didn’t have to think about overcoming barriers. But then I realised I could move in a way that was true to me, and it felt like I could finally be my true self.”
“It allowed me to earnestly drag my body, no pretending in movement, no frustration I left my mark, with the elongated smudge of my body on the ground and on the wall,” the student said.
The second stage was open to all students and introduced barriers, along with an incomplete map. They were encouraged to respond by navigating through, over and around the barriers to complete the map.
Echoing the insights of student participants, Rachel said that the approach showed how it’s not possible to build a city out of only one perspective.
“Instead of making singular places accessible, and claiming the whole area to be, why not take a holistic view and connect places with each other through accessibility?”
“I was struck at how the students began to rethink inclusion collectively, rather than in a fixed way.”
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