This work is third in a series of performative actions for video by artist Edgar Oliveira. Through Capitalizizisme I, II and III, the artist locates old buildings that have been closed off and locked, no longer in use with the doors blocked up by bricks – a common sighting in many international cities. As a series, the works explore the debris left by capitalist forces of property development, and the artist explores different ways of entering these gated spaces.
In Capitalizizisme III the artist knocks down one of the many bricked up doors of a building, with the intent to cross its threshold as a symbolic gesture of crossing a border and barrier. With the intent to open up again the conduit to a communal understanding and access to enclosed areas, the artist seeks to instigate dialogue and reflection on the effects of urban development on our experiences of public and private space.
The performative video will be projected onto the walls of various spaces around the Barbican Centre, juxtaposing this performative gesture against the walls of one of the UK’s most iconic cultural centres.
