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There’s a seriously phallic presence at PASS Central, parked at the extreme left with a black arrow pointed towards the ground, Bianca now presides over the station.
When the call for us to remove her from St Georges Mall came it was from the Mall’s Committee, the ‘noise’ was disturbing the five star guests at the Taj- was the allegation and we didn’t have a permit- was the reason. We were not surprised that they came after the Othaship, permits had been applied for and in typical bureaucratic tai-kwon-no we had gotten no response to ay or nay it. So Bianca went up and stayed up a week and ironically it was after the call from the Mall rats the City Council decided to use our precious tax rands to send an email to PASS Central, “We’d like to inform you that your permit application is now under review.” Yeah sure dude, whatever right?
Since her occupation some have missed her, walking or dancing on her floor without registering this new addition. This is where I’d spit a ton truck’s worth of judgement but I’ve grown to understand a few things in the past week. The City failed to see her out there in the elements, who’s to say it’s unreasonable that others see through her when she’s propped against a white wall?
Many people who had gone to view the installation came back surprised that the Berlin Wall had stood at the Mall that long, people had walked past it many times without seeing it. I will admit, I’ve been to many events around the Mall and I’ve walked past that wall without seeing it. Can you imagine missing an entire wall on an almost daily basis?
On Tuesday one of the wooden floor tiles broke, it’s off the dance floor but right on the walkway and fixing it would require re-flooring the whole studio. Neo and Felicia found a luminous orange board and taped around it in yellow. When people started coming in it was as if the orange board had been part of the studio forever, everyone seemed to know to walk around it. Watching people skirt the orange and knowing that in the same space they failed to see a ginormous contraption has been quite a trip.
The conditioning is complete, there is no need to fear I am Robot , Martian Invasions or any such sci-fi thriller plots, it’s here. We’ve become so conditioned to filling out the paperwork to party, congregate (you will need a permit if you and 20 friends want to chill in a public space), you need a permit to kill a cow, you need a permit to walk as a group, you need a permit to re-purpose/purpose an otherwise useless invisible symbol of oppression, YOU NEED A PERMIT.
What’s the point of the whole ‘process’ apart from the performative nature of filling out forms, waiting for a call, surrendering power to the local government letterhead?
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