• Replicas, 2023

    This ongoing series of site-specific replicas of architectural elements question what is singular and original. Calling attention to a utilitarian element in an environment that typically falls into the background of experience at the same time as they recede from view, blending in with the surroundings through their similarity to their doppelganger. 1: Downspout/pipe on the exterior of an abandoned building in Mexico City (January 2023). 2: Hot water pipe in Toronto, Canada (February 2023).
  • Extrusion, 2017

    Built at the RMIT Design Hub gallery. A forgotten alcove is extended out into the space of the gallery, repeating and continuing the perforated wall panels of the gallery. A small door opens onto a crawlspace lined with perforated galvanized steel sheet, affording a passageway through this extrusion. Upon reaching the end of the crawlspace, one can stand up in this tall, narrow alcove, looking out through layers of glass (including a sliding glass door) towards the exterior of the building. The interior volume of this extrusion, above the crawlspace, is filled with ventilation ducts and electrical cables, suggesting a utilitarian function for this construction as part of the building's operation.
  • Adaptations, 2014

    A collaboration with Roel Meijs and made with the support of Pelican Self Storage and Oma Varasto, this project continues ideas brought about in 'The Space Within' (2010).  Constructed within a self-storage facility in Helsinki, architectural interventions were installed into four units.  Extending elements of the site, such as ventilation ducts, concrete pillars, walls and windows, 'Adaptations' intervened into the functional architectural design of this building in order to amplify what was already there, but this extension offered a counterpoint rather than further functionality.  No gallery attendants, invigilators, or other mediators assisted with the experience of this work; visitors would reserve a visiting time with a telephone operator, and were given the address of the site as well as an access code for the building, the storage unit numbers, and the codes to the combination locks for those units. Visitors would negotiate access to the site and these units alone. Video here.
  • Building Movements, 2013

    A collaborative project made with Chris Cottrell, Olivia Pintos-Lopez. Building Movements was composed of 4 installations which were attached to the elevator doors on 4 floors at the RMIT Design Hub. When the elevator doors would open, visitors were confronted with a transitional space that needed to be negotiated. Video here.
  • I Am A Laboratory, 2012

    The first part of this project was to build an orgone accumulator following the plans of Wilhelm Reich.  A 2-ply accumulator was constructed, and included Reich's instructions for use. This device sought to change the body within it as a result of the material properties of its construction. Following this idea, I built a second space to contain a body. This small laboratory, built of insulating materials as well as metal and a ventilation system functioned as a walk-in biosafety cabinet. Negative air pressure was created in the space through a ventilation unit, and incoming air was filtered through a HEPA filter. Within this cabinet was a small desk, lamp, and laboratory notebook. Users were requited to wear laboratory coat, rubber gloves and booties, and were asked to devise experiments to be conducted on the body within this space. The presentation of these two constructions side by side intended to effect a consideration of how the body in relation to a surrounding environment can function as a laboratory. Critically rethinking what can be considered research and scientific methods, this project proposes a focus on experimentation towards developing an understanding of the relationship between body and architecture, organism and environment.
  • Passage, 2011

    The black walls of the museum were extended out to create a black box. Marked with a light above a door was the entrance to a room. This room within the black box was tilted on two axes. All elements within it functioned other than they appeared: a wood patterned floor was made of plastic, wood patterned wallpaper covered the walls, a suitcase functioned as a bookshelf, clock ran backwards, a hair dryer functioned as a flashlight, and a chest of drawers was in fact a doorway into a ventilation system. Through this doorway, visitors would crawl through a metal ventilation duct along which were peepholes that offered views of far away lands. Small scenes were composed of a collage of historical drawings of explorations from the period of European colonialism.  This ventilation duct led to a final cube of steel, with light coming from a small duct that appeared to be coming from outside.  Exiting this cube room visitors found themselves at the end of a long dark corridor at the and of the museum's gallery.
  • The Space Within, 2010

    A collaborative project made with Roel Meijs, The Space Within filled a gallery with a large abstract volume made of burlap.  Visitors entering the gallery were pressed against its walls, and had to skirt its perimeter to find the entrance. Within this volume was an attic space designed after traditional Finnish wooden houses. A hidden door led from this attic to a basement space. Passing through it, the basement door would lock behind a visitor. Down a corridor with low ceiling was an octagonal room with dirt floor.  On the walls were two hatches, of identical dimensions. One contained insulation materials, and the other a radiator. Upon returning to the basement door visitors would find it locked, and would have to seek out a hidden doorway that would lead them to a final set of stairs and corridors, eventually exiting the building from the rear, denying them a return to their point of entry, as they would find themselves at an inner courtyard, which led to a side street around the corner from the gallery entrance.
  • Room 511: Archives, 2007

    In 2006, I collected pieces of strangers homes around Helsinki.  Offering to take away things unwanted, from objects to furniture to structural elements, I gathered materials for building a new space. These collected materials were re-assembled into a new form in an abandoned office space in Helsinki, formerly used by the Hackmann kitchen ware company. Two office rooms were transformed into a series of five rooms and a corridor. Passage between these spaces was made difficult as the doorways were often hidden, demanding active participation and curiosity from visitors to find their way through. Video here.
  • Crawlspace, 2005

    In 2004 I deconstructed the basement room in which I had spent many years of my childhood.  Taking the wall panels, floor, and lighting as materials, a new space was built. This new structure was small, intimate yet very uncomfortable, as the angular surroundings afforded only enough space to crawl around.  In a few comfortable locations, a sleeping bag could be found, a journal of memories from this period of my life, and a telephone replaying sounds from this original space.