What if the space in which you live is suddenly no longer accessible? Due to the measures taken as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, the scope of the space in which we find ourselves was limited overnight. Suddenly, this former space has become inaccessible to us, the same restrictions apply to everyone, and no one knows how long this situation will persist. This forced mobility brings us into an in-between space between the past and the future; the waiting room. The space in which we live determines who we are and who we become. It forms, among other things, our identity.

By describing and visualizing the past, present and future spaces at a personal level (I) and a global level (we), this project researches what this state of mobility does to our identity, and whe­ther we, as citizens of the world, can use this period of contemplation for a different, better future.

The room in which I sleep, work and live, becomes a waiting room in which the process of looking at my (personal) and our (global) spaces in the past, present and future will be exhibited. Making this waiting room tangible visualizes the process of my research, but also sets an example and provides guidance on how to deal with so much sudden uncertainty. The waiting room is a container of the past and the future, memory and imagination, limitations and potential. Creating this apartment exhibition is a manner of processing this period. – Anne Schaarschmidt