One of the City of Melbourne’s public art projects is an “installation” in this narrow alleyway in Chinatown. Throughout the street, signs have been installed that mimick usual shop signs or parking notices, but instead, they all convey surrealist poetry. Its a great idea I think – so disorienting to see a “No Standing” sign spouting off on the nature of existence, and then turning around to find the street is full of them - but sadly, it has been poorly exceuted. Whoever was selected to write the poetry just…sucks. Its not interesting, or amusing, or thought-provoking. Just wanky. A great idea, undermined by a big error in judgment.
[...] The surrealist poetry alleyway. There also used to be an art installation in another alleyway where if you looked up, there was a giant safe about to fall down on your head, just like in a cartoon. Pretty cool! I tried to find it the other day but couldn’t. Not sure if its gone now, or i just got lost. [...]
If I remember correctly, half of the words are taken from Daoist texts like the Laozi and Zhuangzi, and the other half from Heraclitus (he of ‘you can never step into the same river twice’ fame). The point being, presumably to link Chinatown with the remnants of ‘little Greece’ at the alley’s Lonsdale Street end. (subtext being the affinities between Heraclitus’ philosophy of change and Daoist ideas of the ‘nonabidingness’ of the Dao.)
But I agree: nice, disconcerting idea, but on closer inspection a bit lacking in execution. They could have found better quotes from Laozi and Zhangzi for a start.