Wasteland: an empty area of land, especially in or near a city, that is not used to grow crops or built on, or used in any way

- Cambridge Dictionary

 

Generally, the idea of the wasteland brings to mind an abandoned space, in its "natural" or "wild" state: it is most often defined by its absence of construction or human intervention. It also seems that this space belongs to everyone and to no one at the same time. It is part of a common landscape.

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For this month of Museum in Quarantine we proposed the theme of the wasteland as a blank page or a space where everything can be invented and built. Your vacant lot could be a physical space, such as a collective space, a room in your home, or even a blank sheet of paper. It could also be a mental space, to be inhabited through a performative action.

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We encouraged you to think about the notion of empty space: what can we implant there, for what reasons and what purpose? What does this change bring? Is it individual or collective? When everything has to be done, where does one start? Is it necessary to have a specific goal in mind when starting this process? What does it mean to renew? Starting all over again? What to keep and what to reject? Which foundations are there in a wasteland to build on? Is a vacant lot necessarily a clean slate? Do you believe in the impossible?

Filling the void and facing the blank page: is it scary? Is it motivating? Are you one of those people who feel the need to fill the void? Or do you prefer to let things take their own space?

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