Jana Vuki

Imprint

Imprint

Imprint is about the process of entering a hyper sensible

mindset to re-experience our surroundings. This hyper sensible
state is evoked by dedication to a methodology which enables
for a new spatial experience. By decontextualising a space
we leave behind the conventional idea of subjective space
and enter a situation where we can revive the objective space.
Of course, its not possible to experience without reacting
subjectively, therefore we enter a hyper sensible state which
creates a platform to experience a space in a different and more
profound manner.
This sensibility can be achieved by obliterating the already
amassed ideas of a space. The spaces surrounding us
have been designed mainly in admission to their function.
For example, a classroom is experienced from its role as a
classroom. Our daily use of the space, and our experience of
it, goes hand in hand with its initial purpose. When we change
the practices within the space, we can create conflicting
experiences within the surroundings. This clash creates the
hyper sensible state where a space can be reviewed outside the
context of its function. In accordance to this process,
I have formulated a set of procedures. Together they form a
methodology which can be implemented in any space.

Methodology

The methodological process is based on leaving behind

presumptions in order to acquire new impressions of space.
I relate to the work of an archeologist who neatly investigates
ancient findings from which a historical context is then
reconstructed. Before taking samples, I developed a protocol
of handling and acting towards my findings, allowing minimal
subjective interaction. This subjective interference in the act
of processing them is just enough to gain a personal relation
towards the space. Following the process of collecting
fragments of space, I developed a system of ordering and
storing the acquired information.

Location

Orientation

The investigation is set within the building of the Rietveld

Academy, a familiar space. There are parts of the building I
have come to know very well, while I have never set foot in
others before.
I chose to work with one space per floor, generating five spaces
over five floors. Three out of five spaces were appointed to me
by the administration office, creating a situation without bias
towards certain rooms on my part. This randomness sent me to
unfamiliar parts of the building, like the third floor. Two spaces,
however, were chosen by me deliberately: the gym and the
small staircase on the ground floor. I have entered both before,
but I have never stayed long enough to be fully aware of my
surroundings. The method of dissecting the space forced me to
better understand these locations.

I visited the spaces alone within a time frame of five different

days, spending about four or five hours in each space. The first
act consisted of removing all interior objects which were limiting
access to the walls, like chairs and tables, by moving them to
the centre. The next step was to decontextualise the space from
its function by taking away the hierarchy within the orientation
of the space, by appointing to it the cardinal directions of
north, east, south, west. The Rietveld building is aligned almost
perfectly within this orientation. By enlarging the context of a
room, the conventional front or back from a space become
non-existent, or at least irrelevant, and new parameters can be
handled.

In this work I focus on the walls, since these are the main
carriers and primarily host the hierarchy of a space.

Walk

Documentation

After freeing the walls and positioning myself towards the

north, I explore the space three times in a clockwise direction.
In each laps, I stop in front of every wall, concentrate on its
details and attempt to formulate what Im looking at. Sometimes
its nothing special, on other occasions Im surprised with the
diversity in textures. Taking time enables me to be more precise
in my observations, resulting in many different findings. The
three lapses force a more detailed registration of the wall and
therefore of the space, each time finding new details.

The registration of findings consists of an imprint made on a

soft aluminum plate by pressing it onto the texture. This process
takes about twenty minutes to create a very detailed print of the
surface. Through this process, the methodology is translated
to a visual and physical representation of my perception of
the space. The aluminum plates come in two colours, a silver
aluminum and a copper aluminum, which become codes for
the height of the imprint. Each texture which required me to sit
on the floor to collect it is printed in silver. The imprints which
allowed me to stand up or required me to stretch are printed
in copper aluminum. This way, the physical embodiment of the
process contains spatial information about the relation between
myself, my mental fixation towards the surface - depending on
my subjective frame of reference - and the space. The width
of each plate is the same, the length depended on the direct
context of the imprint. The plates therefore gain a strong mutual
resemblance while simultaneously keeping their individuality.

(Re)presentation

Five spaces consisting of four walls which I visited three times

creates 60 imprinted plates containing my impressions of the
space: 12 plates per space. Seeing as the work is more about
the process of decontextualising space and reaching a hyper
sensibility towards it, rather than the physical output of it, another
methodology helped me select a collection of plates with a
certain relation towards each other. Together, the presented
plates form a narrative of the methodologies. I brought the 60
plates down to 24 through use of a system. This helped me deal
with the imprints from an objective point, leaving aesthetics and
my subjective interference aside as much as possible.
I decided to work with a grid form, enabling every plate to stand
on its own while simultaneously supporting each other as a
whole. I gave all the prints their own code.
Starting with the cardial directions, every north, east, south and
west direction received their own 15 plates combined from all
5 spaces. Every wall received 3 lapses of plates. After puzzling
with a grid formation I gave the four sides of the grid their own
cardial direction and created within these directions 6 positions,
proposing every direction 2 plates per laps. Since I work with 5
spaces, this means for every direction one space got two plates.
The other spaces only one. The imprints can be read from the
outside towards the inside, following my lapses in the right
order.
The selected 24 plates received their own letter in alphabetic
order.

lapses

1st

2nd

3rd

2nd

1st

north with lapses 1 - 2 - 3 - 3 - 2 - 1

south with lapses 1 - 2 - 3 - 3 - 2 - 1

east with lapses 3 - 2 - 1

3-2-1

west with lapses 1 - 2 - 3

1-2-3

Reconstruction

Gym

During the lapses in the spaces Ive kept a diary of my

impressions. In the written documentation Ive reconstructed
elements and textures which Ive noticed in the spaces
and renamed them. Sometimes I do reflect on my previous
experiences with the spaces and the building, but mainly I tried
to rediscover all little particles which make the space a space.
In the reconstruction tekst Ive demarcated lines which resemble
my findings. Those lines are marked cursive and refer to the
imprinted textures.

The first view, a wall across the entrance, marks the east side
of the space. It is split in half horizontally, the top consisting
of windows while the bottom is a blind wall. The floor is sunk
into the ground and passersby outside can see through the
windows, although they dont seem to notice. The blind wall
contains rhythmic details which shimmer as one moves through
the space. It turns out to be a big closet with locks.
Four ventilation grids are divided over the length.
Facing the north is a big blank wall full of texture which can only
be distinguished from close by. The space, however, allows
a distance from which the wall is just very rough and full of
shadows. Towards the ground, there is a ditch which disrupts
the overall surface texture. Upon close examination, the wall
consists of various layers which reveal that the bricks used to
be bright yellow. Now, they are just grey. Like the first, the west
wall of the space is split in half. In stark contrast to the north
wall, a lot of things are going on here. The top half reveals itself
as a partition which allows the sounds of the canteen to enter.
Another part of the wall is smooth, painted. However, close to
the floor thick drops of paint have clustered. They contrast nicely
with the smooth surface and reveal the job done.
The fourth wall at the south mirrors the north wall with thick
layers of paint overlaying bricks. But off-centered onto it is a
big white surface which makes the wall either bigger or smaller,
it is hard to determine which. The similarity between the two
opposing walls, north and south, demands an examination of
their differences. My eye catches the part with a forgotten piece
of tape, perhaps from a removed artwork. Its hidden beneath
the paint.

small staircase

105

Its hard to define the spiraling space of the staircase which

crosses multiple floors. It looks empty, only a door breaks this
monotony. It comes natural, after a while, to sit down on the
steps. A black rubber curve is laid out where the stairs and the
wall meet. The curve does not completely reach the wall. The
east wall is empty, no door distracts the smooth, grey surface.
The light is very dim and reveals little details within the space. It
demands squinting the eyes for better vision. Half a floor down,
the wall is marked by a circle. I find a chair in the basement
which I use to reach the circle.
The south wall is the most cluttered one in the staircase; the
railing prohibits free access to the wall. The different levels allow
a look through the window, which show a view over the top of
the hallway. This place turns one in to a voyeur. On the west
wall is an electricity cabinet, painted with the same grey paint
weve seen before. Everything in this building seems to become
homogenized through greyness. On the cabinet is an emblem.
I wonder what its supposed to be.

The north wall is right away the first wall you face, the same
rhythmic columns, the radiators. Only the view is different.
This space has curtains, of which half seem to be broken. The
columns show some holes with plugs in the concrete.
The concrete surrounding the plugs has brittled off.
The east wall is clearly being used as the front wall, with its
freshly painted white surface. In the corner, there are two big
holes where the radiator penetrates the wall. The holes are
too big for the pipes that run through them. You can hear the
conversations on the staircase, the neighboring space, through
the holes. Turning towards the entrance, I face the south wall.
There is a built-in cabinet and underneath, a ventilation grid.
Its tempting to count how many holes the grid contains. On the
column, right away on the left side of the entrance, is again
the circle which seems to be all over the building. This time its
white. Above the circle is a big ditch in the column.
The west wall consists of fixed partition walls between slim
columns. These walls are removable despite looking permanent.
They take up two-thirds of the wall, while the upper part contains
windows. Their blinds are down which creates a glossy and
reflecting effect on the windows which is in stark contrast to the
matte wall. In the corner where west and north meet, the radiator
penetrates as well the concrete wall, exactly as on the opposite
side of the space. Yet here the holes have been covered up
neatly.

218

306

The north wall permits the entrance to the space. It is the same
one which also holds the built-in cabinets, an unused sink and
a built-in glass display. The cabinets are painted, again, grey
with some irregularities and shimmering details revealing their
function. The lower half of the wall is disrupted by two ventilation
grids. Yet these grids are different ones from the other space.
The east wall consists of partition walls between the same slim
columns and windows as in the other space. But this time the
blinds are in the space, hiding the windows. The blinds have a
different colour grey then the wall.
There are big windows facing the south through which the sun
heats the space to an uncomfortable temperature. Despite the
warm temperature, the radiators work regularily as well. This
time theyre off.
The west is a mirrored version of the east wall. Also on this side
the blinds are in front the window. Strings with plastic beads
serve to pull the blinds up or to let them down.
It resembles a pearl necklace.

The space is a bit darker and colder then the rest of the
building. The windows face the north. Nevertheless the wall is
filled with curtains, of which half seem broken. On the columns,
which separate the view, a velcro strip is implemented on the
concrete where the curtains can be attached to. A thoroughly
thought about detail. Below I find small wooden blocks attached
to the column. They are painted grey and are not on every
column. Their function is hard to determine.
The windowsill invites to sit on it. From the corner theres a nice
perspective over the space. The east wall, to the left now, is
very calm in comparison to the other, darker, walls. Its white
and on the ceiling is a beamer attached facing towards this
wall. Obviously the front wall in this space. The windowsill
gives an effect of a niche. A subtle boarder is framing the
windowsill alongside the wall and ceiling. The wall in this niche
is painted gray again, contrasting the big white wall which is in
its extension. Slightly above the radiator, which penetrates the
white wall here, is a messy plastering been done to cover the
holes. The strokes are visible.
The south wall, where the entrance is, has a lot of resemblance
to the other spaces. With closed closets and in the corner to the
west wall is an unused sink. To the left of the entrance a very
subtle disruption in the surface is visible. After some inspections
theres no doubt, theres a piece of wallpaper glued on the wall.
From a distance not noticeable because it is painted in the same
gray colour.