TOURIST-SITE-SEEING
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Tourist-Site-Seeing
The downsides of tourism are becoming more visible, but at the same time tourist spots generate a fascinating culture of their own. With the Tourist-Site-Seeing project Florian looks at places of mass tourism as a cultural tourist, and translates them into large-scale conversation objects.
THE HIDDEN GEM SHOP @ DDW2019
Earlier this year Florian organised ‘guided tours’ and talked about observations in Barcelona, Prague, Venice, Genoa and Tokyo. During the DDW he elaborates on one observation with The Hidden Gem Shop.
At places of mass tourism we look desperately for unique experiences, with as few other tourists as possible. In the streets tourist guides present themselves as real local experts and we Googles en masse for "hidden gems" and "off the beaten track". In the end we all end up in the same places. In the Hidden Gem Shop you can buy 100% unique experiences for just one euro.
In addition to the Hidden Gem Shop at Sectie-C, Florian will also design a Tourist-Site-Seeing hotel room at Hotel Insomnia / De Fabriek.
FACADISM
Many apartment building blocks have been quickly transformed into tourist apartments or hotels. It takes the regular daily-life out of these buildings. The facades barely change, the set dressing just does not match with the film anymore. The disappearing supermarkets and balcony gardens give away the transformation.
International Souvenir Shop
How local should products be to meet the demands of tourists looking for a souvenir? In our world economy boundaries of geographic locations and semantics are blurring. Where do these boundaries lie in the global distribution and sales of souvenirs?
Matryoshka [Japan – Russia – Paris – Prague]
In Prague you find souvenir shops completely dedicated to Matryoshka’s, which are thought to originate from Russia. They actually are inspired by the Daruma, a sought-after souvenir in Japan. The Matryoskha representing Russia, the Eiffel tower representing Paris – they both came to life around 1890. As a souvenir, Matryoshkas became well-known at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1900, beneath the real Eiffel tower.
When tourism in Prague got moving, the Matryoshka became a symbol for the whole Eastern part of Europe. The Prague Museum of Communism, until 2017 located above a McDonalds restaurant, used an angry-looking Matryoshka to give direction to the tourists.
Sombrero [Barcelona]
On my first holiday without parents in Barcelona, I bought the largest sombrero I could find. I saw them being offered in every souvenir shop, so I assumed they were typical for the region. Of course they are originally from Mexico. How did they end up in Barcelona? Maybe the hat is symbolizing Spanish speaking countries in general. In Barcelona they speak Catalan, though.