The Rubble Project

How does a space reveal the imprints of its past? How does its history inform the potential for its future? Examining the building of The Substation as a window into understanding both its past and future, the Rubble Project introduces a series of artistic interventions into the now obsolete box office. Incisions and intrusions into the space expose the contested histories embodied within its scars, marks and ruins, reactivating the box office as a site for alternative imaginings. 

MURMURATION by Ong Kian Peng

Long shuttered, the box office has fallen into obsolescence and neglect. Tracing the interior architectural features of the box office through a moving projection, the work reveals lines and corners, evoking a resuscitation of the dead space. 

"The installation is a direct response to my experience of the box office. Based on my initial interactions with the Substation in 2008, I've understood the space as ignored, suffocated and defunct. Working on the first iteration the Rubble Project gave me a chance to experience the space more intimately –through my sensing of the room's features and history of use, I wanted to express the idea of transformation and shifts to indicate forthcoming changes within the box office."