So, today I’m testing my new camcorder: the Panasonic HC–V550.
I was hoping to make some pretty interesting test shots outside and immediately ran into this collection of watering cans, all chain locked to a fence. Which kind of makes sense. Like, you never know who might want to take them away.
Here you see the quality of the zoom as I’m filming someone filling big bottles at a drinking fountain. And then I saw that some other people with smaller drinking bottles need to find other solutions to completely fill up.
The city really seemed to be the best place for some test shots, although it did feel a bit awkward to secretly capture public life.
So, I felt relieved after realizing public space is owned by everyone. Especially during sunset.
Public space can be great if you dare to claim it and just do whatever you want to do. But as the available space in the city gets more and more cramped and seems to be used as efficiently as possible, the biggest challenge is to find the space that’s just for yourself. I was hoping to benefit from this challenge.
So, I got a car.
I think a parking spot is a public space that’s just for you. I only had to manage to find one. Some free spots seem to have been taken by objects other than cars and of course there was no way to contact the owners of these objects. Imagine being able to just claim any public space you like.
Like – right in front of the train station, or next to your house, in the city center, at the park, or in front of your favorite bookshop. All you would have to do is just contact the owner of the object blocking that public space, offer him a small fee, and it’s all yours. So, today I learned that in public space you can be yourself.
I mean, look at this!
Please, buy public space now.
text: Willem de Haan
photos: Nils Bornemann, Joe Clark, Willem de Haan, Friedrich Herz
