Domestic Occupation
Beyond the screaming of angry crowds, the incessant pounding of the drum circle, and the periodic skirmishes with police that have occurred in recent Occupations that have sprung up across the globe—events that receive prominent attention in the media—there is another aspect to these movements that is often overlooked; it is the fact that, for however long it lasts, people have chosen to make their public space of choice their home.
Domestic Occupation is about this quieter side of the movement. It is about families playing with their children in a makeshift playground. It is about people doing what they do every day in a normal neighborhood—drying laundry, reading scripture and just hanging out with friends. In way, it even resembles a normal neighborhood, with its ubiquitous dome tents arrayed neatly in a line—just like the row homes of a few blocks away or tract homes in the outlaying suburbs. And just like the normal neighborhood, with the unkempt home down the block, there is the occasional ramshackle of a blue tyvek tarp/tent after thought; what it lacks in functionality is more than made up in sculptural beauty.
It is the presence of the participants living their daily lives in a humble, hardscrabble manner, in the open, for all to witness, that resonates most with me. Far more potent than any yelling, screaming and banner waiving—the message that the occupants merely want the 99% of our society to be able to live a normal happy life comes through in the side show of their daily lives.
