Dezeen Magazine

Didier Faustino's AA exhibition includes a spiky yellow stage for public speaking

French artist Didier Faustino has installed a spiky stage in front of the Architectural Association in London's Bedford Square to encourage spontaneous public speaking.

The stage is the second edition of Faustino's This is not a Love Song, which was first created for the grounds of a 1950s villa designed by architect and sculptor André Bloc.

Didier Faustino's stage for the Architectural Association

At the villa on the outskirts of Paris, a brick and mortar wall resembling a cartoon explosion frames the entrance to an existing concrete folly. The stand-alone installation outside the Architectural Association school of architecture (AA) features the same pointy silhouette but with a fluorescent yellow finish.

According to the artist, the "monochrome platform invites events and performances" with a shape that opens onto the square.

Faustino also suggested that the installation could be used by the public as a speakers' corner – a place where people are able to indulge in public oration and debate.

"This installation presents a certain approach to performative practice in the closely-linked fields of contemporary art and architecture, representative of Didier Faustino's obsession with the location of the body in private and public space," said a project text released by the artist.

Many of Faustino's previous projects have included an element of social interaction, including an intervention at an arts centre in Cincinnati comprising a chain-link fence that guides visitors through the space.

Didier Faustino's stage for the Architectural Association

The AA installation is made from a steel structure clad in plywood panels and painted to give it a uniform appearance that stands out against the surrounding Georgian architecture.

Organised events that have taken place so far on the stage include a performance by a musical ensemble. A representative from the AA told Dezeen it has been popular as a location for photo opportunities but has not attracted many rabble-rousers.

This is not a Love Song was inaugurated on 10 October and forms one half of an exhibition titled Undomesticated Places, alongside a video installation presented inside the AA Gallery.

The video called Exploring Dead Buildings 2.0 documents a month-long project undertaken by Faustino in Havana, which saw him strap a cage-like camera rig to a local resident who was then asked to explore the ruins of the city's School of Ballet.

Faustino's other projects include a Baroque mirror with a hole in its centre that recalls a glory hole, and a group of hollow figures made from folded pieces of carpet.

Didier Faustino's stage for the Architectural Association

Bedford Square regularly hosts installations presented by the Architectural Association and its students. Previous projects have included a tree-like pavilion by German-Chilean office Gun Architects that recreated the climate of a rainforest and a swirling wooden pavilion designed by students from the school's Unit 2 architecture course.

The Undomesticated Places exhibition runs until 12 December at the AA Gallery.