‘Utopia. Reflections on a place–myth’ is an experimental visual exploration of the idea of a perfectly organised city and society. It is inspired by a personal journey and discovery of the Garden City Movement in 2020, when I unexpectedly had to move to Welwyn Garden City from South London. The project aims to bring closer the visual and architectural elements of the 2nd Garden City in the world, founded in 1920 by Sir Ebenezer Howard. By taking the origins of the word utopia as starting point, I’m looking at the Greek ‘ou topos’, which means ‘no place’, and using it to visually deconstruct the imagined notion of the ideal. The Garden City plans and concepts were dreams that only partially came true, but they inspired, to a certain extent, many other contemporary utopias.
Located 20 miles north of London in Hertfordshire, Welwyn Garden City was meant to combine the best aspects of the city and the countryside to avoid the disadvantages of both, such as overpopulation, pollution, and lack of employment opportunities. It was designed to be ‘The Perfect Town’. Howard’s innovative ideas of creating new sustainable settlements were ground-breaking in response to the conditions that the workers had to endure in big cities, but they weren’t successful due their economic models, the dissonance between capitalism and uniformity, as well as the immense impact of industrialisation.
There is a heightened optimism and idealism within the design of the advertising and marketing materials of the garden cities. The posters feature catchphrases, such as ‘Live in the Sun in Welwyn Garden City’, which are placed alongside female silhouettes, lush flowers, stylized animals, and the reoccurring Sun icon. Throughout the design of the zine and posters, I consider how the elements of this type of visual communication can be explored as a paradox. The historical narrative of this unique idea combined with personal photography, illustration and a modified typeface, create a nostalgic piece with diaristic and poetic qualities, through which I aim to prompt curiosity and reflection within my audiences.
The swift sounds of fast passing trains are distinguishable throughout the town, which is home to many commuters. Having my windows facing the train station, this silence-cutting noise became a symbol of distorted perfectionism, found within the original circular geometric plans (which didn’t conclude as the real-life city plan). It inspired the modifications within the ‘Utopia’ logo, created from an old style-inspired typeface Adobe Song Std L.
What does a utopia mean to a contemporary man? Is it balance, closeness with nature, highly digitized worlds or strict structure and boundaries? Can utopia be achieved under the heavy wings of capitalism? Just like the origins of the word itself, utopia is not one place, but many places, people and ideas. Just like the diverse human race is, so there are endless utopias to respond to every need and issue.
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