Of
the
thesis
entitled: Drifting Outside
of
the
City
Abstract:
There
are
spaces
in
Toronto
where
the
city’s
grid
is forced
to
give
way.
Remnants
of
outdated
infrastructure,
deep
geographic indentations,
and
natural
elements
appear,
disrupting
the
constraints
that govern
our
urban
environment.
The
spaces remaining
have
been
shaped
by
industry,
re-purposed
or
abandoned;
they
are subterranean,
and
uninhabited,
or
simply
forgotten
and
absorbed
by
the
growing city.
This
is
an
exploration
of
a
found
park,
six
existing terrains
in
Toronto including;
a
streetscape,
inactive
rail
path,
ravine,
river
valley
and de-industrialized
waterfront.
Individually,
these
terrains
are
often
hidden from
the
urban
realm,
disorientating
and
open
to
interpretation.
Connected, they
create
a
green
loop
around
the
inner
city.
This
is
an exploration
recorded
in
four
methods;
walking,
photography,
photomontage
and projections.
It
is
a
record
of
my
wandering
in
various
terrains
and
the different
lenses
that
I
found
and
used
to
understand
these
spaces.
This
is a documentation
of
the
existing,
as
well
as
an
exploration
of
a
perception
of space.
It
is
a
record
of
the
temporal
experience
of
passage,
of
the
unfolding of
a
narrative,
and
of
the
unique
character
of
these
spaces.
The
result
is
a series
of
curated
walks,
amplifying
the
threshold
between
city
and
anti-city.
I want
to
reveal
the
familiar
as
unfamiliar,
and
curate
the
experience
of
this hidden
landscape,
and
connecting
it
to
our
built
environment.
I had
to
suppress the
urge
to
fix
the
spaces,
clean
them
up,
connect
them,
smooth
them
out.
I wanted
to
approach
each
of
these
spaces
delicately,
hinting
at
their
past, present,
and
projecting
ambitions
for
future
relationships
with
them. Working with
the
themes
of
cultural
memory,
social
dialogue,
and
geographic
history
to create
new
stories,
and
an
evolving
backdrop
for
city
life.
The examining committee is as follows:
Supervisor:
Committee Members:
Donald McKay, University of Waterloo
Anne Bordeleau, University of Waterloo
Rick Haldenby,
University of
Waterloo
External Reader:
Fiona Lim Tung
The
committee
has
been
approved
as
authorized
by
the
Graduate
Studies
Committee.
The
Defence
Examination
will
take
place:
Monday
December
19,
2016
2:30
PM
ARC
2026
A
copy
of
the
thesis
is
available
for
perusal
in
ARC
2106A.