Heterotopias- Diego and Lucas's project at SCA.

At first I was judgemental of Diego and Lucas's example of 'Relational Aesthetic' gardening, especially as they cited Bourriard. I am not particularly impressed by the premise put forward by Bourriard which foregoes any possibility of socio-political change - revolution - and opts instead for 'micro-utopias'. I see this as maintaining a cynical distance to the ruling ideology of late-capitalism, that is, we know the system is corrupt but we are going to ignore that and adopt a pragmatic approach and make 'small changes'. This soft Left approach props up the hard right and is reliant on the ruling ideology for its survival. The garden is within the Institution of Sydney University which is deeply complicit in the machine of the neo-liberals. The SCA funding is severely limited, teachers positions are being 'restructured' and there is the threat of losing the Art Theory component to the main campus to remove the 'redoubling' of subjects offered by the University. Furthermore, if the project was indeed a 'social interstice' -as promoted by Bourriard in the interest of following the Marxist concept of a space free of Capitalist exchange - then there needs to be a dialogue which reaffirms this. Thus, no selling of the produce through the Campus Cafe!

The environmental sustainability of such a project needs to be thought through in regards to water consumption and possibly utilising the now defunct water pump and drainage system. (Apparently some of the columns are hollow and divert water from the roof to an underground storage area).

As I pondered the space of the garden and the possibilities it does offer - the possibility of an improved well-being of the students and staff and the opening up a more participatory democratic space in which to inter-act, I found a short essay written by Foucault which refers to the space of a garden as a 'heterotopia'. Foucault refers to a heterotopia as a place which is 'outside of all places, even if it may be possible to indicate their location in reality',' a contradictory site in which the real sites that can be found within the culture, are simultaneously represented, contested and inverted.' The traditional garden of the Persians, according to Foucault, is one of the oldest examples of a heterotopia. This garden was a space which 'was supposed to bring together inside its rectangle four parts representing the four parts of the world' and was considered to be a sacred space. It was then that Diego and Lucas' project gained my favour as I thought of the existence of such a space within the confines of the panoptic architecture of SCA.

A space in which time may be lost and the sacredness of everyday life may be appreciated. I only question does the heterotopia thence become a fetish within the confines of the Institution?