Zürich (2021)

Bureau of Commons is a self-declared territory for authorisation. A performance-installation, the Bureau issues random authorisation for people who have the permission to circulate in the Bureau territory.

To be eligible to enter, you need to:

• take a step.

Installing the Bureau

The performer enters the room with a tote bag filled with Bureau materials. First, the performer puts on blue plastic gloves and covers the floor with a blue plastic sheet to set the boundaries of the Bureau territory. Then, a black document case on four wheels is placed in the middle of the territory. Inside the document case, there is a pile of tangled rope with twelve ends. Each end crosses over one wheel and is tied to a golden-blue coloured pencil. The performer takes the pile out of the document case and places each tangled rope on the floor, forming a circle. Then, the performer untangles each rope one by one, until each pencil is freed from entanglement. Once the Bureau is installed, the performer takes out a pile of paper and starts handing them out to people, inviting them to step in the Bureau territory.

Bureau of Commons Zürich was initiated during a residency with the School of Commons, details here ︎︎︎ www.schoolofcommons.org/publishing/bureau-of-commons