"Crusing Pavilion" was an exhibition exploring the effects that "Cruising" (The act of going out to look for someone to have casual sex with, often in a public place at night, or in spaces such as Darkrooms) and modern sexual activities particularly by that of gay men, has had on architecture and design. The exhibition was curated by Pierre-Alexandre Mateos, Rasmus Myrup, Octave Perrault and Charles Teyssou and debuted at the 16th Architectural Biennial in Italy in 2018, and then travelled to New York and Stockholm in 2019. The exhibition includes works by various artists around the subject of architecture and darkrooms, and also includes floor plans of darkrooms and sex clubs.The exhibition itself is designed as a darkroom space, constructed out of mazes and closets, lit dimly, and intentionally a bit grimy, in order to feel as if you are in a darkroom while you are there.
The space is set out as a maze, taking it inspiration straight from the sex clubs and dark rooms it seeks to open up to the world. Attendees must work there way around in the dim light to find the artwork, sculptures and plans that make up the show. In doing this, the viewer is encouraged to consider the architecture of the space, as the main focus of this show is of course to communicate how this cruising spaces, and modern sexual practices, can inform the design of new architecture: "While typical modern design privilege openness, mobility, and “normal” bodies/sexualities, darkrooms — and this exhibit — seek to create exactly the opposite, designing spaces that feel illicit and claustrophobic: an anti-architecture."(Pasquier, 2018). In the interview with I-D (Pasquier, 2018) I find it of great interest that they to were worried about the effects delving into this subject might have on the culture, and those in engage within it, stating: "there is a fine line between celebrating cruising by showing it and disabling it by revealing too much of it". It seems they faced some of the same difficulties in showcasing such a taboo, and protected subject. Where I have been ignored or denied access to spaces (and the one space I have been allowed to visit I have had to be very careful about what photos I took) they too came across a certain distrust, or reluctance, from venues with darkrooms when asking for involvement. One such venue declined to allow them to show a floor plan of there maze as they did not want to ruin the mystery of the space for their patrons, instead opting to provide them with an industrial light fitting, which they felt represented the space.
"Sexuality has been a particularly vivid political frontier in the last few years, devised more along gender lines rather than sexuality only. So by a sexual architectural revolution, I mean that architecture must be sensitive to these societal evolutions and must respond to it with architectural proposals. I see the Cruising Pavilion project as a contributor to this by bringing visibility and reference points. If anything, the project showed that there was a demand for more architectural production on these topics "
Octave Perrault (Jordahn, 2019)
Cruisingpavilion.com. 2020. Cruising Pavilion. [online] Available at: <https://www.cruisingpavilion.com/> [Accessed 15 August 2020].
Jordahn, S., 2019. Architecture Is Overdue Its Own Sexual Revolution Say Cruising Pavilion. [online] Dezeen. Available at: <https://www.dezeen.com/2019/11/04/architecture-overdue-sexual-revolution-cruising-pavilion-ark-des/?li_source=LI&li_medium=bottom_block_1> [Accessed 15 June 2020].
Pasquier, A., 2018. 'Cruising Pavilion' Shows How Public Gay Sex Has Shaped Architecture. [online] I-d. Available at: <https://i-d.vice.com/en_us/article/vbqaq3/cruising-pavilion-venice-architecture-biennale> [Accessed 15 June 2020].
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