Art Prison captures the moment for setting experiences free.

 

The whole spatial experience beginning with the long pathway and culminating in the Fortress is structured around a framework that provides the artists a ground for expressing their creativity freely upon their capturing of the moments during the journey.

 

A regulatory matrix is developed for different functional station points that are to be distributed along the pathway. The formal characteristics of the matrix is based on the idea of melting within the landscape. With its flexible nature, this matrix, which is based on the variations of a single spatial diagram, allows for differentiation of spaces in terms of use and in time. It does not fix any function, it is open to change in time according to changes in necessities. It provides possibilities for spaces that are in the ground, over the ground, and on the ground for uses such as exhibition of art, production of art, vista (towards the city or towards the Fortress), and accommodation.

 

When this creative journey reaches the Fortress, the trace of the pathway is extended inwards and it circulates the rooms in the Fortress while transforming them into art ateliers and a culture center. It connects the two structures of the Fortress to each other with a bridge, providing places for food with a view of the whole Favignana island towards east and west. Whole process is climaxed in the Fortress as the pathway captures it and transforms it into a context for art. The western side of the hill is preserved in its natural state and included in the process as a distant vista.

 

The Fortress is a stratification of different interventions throughout the history. Art Prison is the contemporary intervention to this stratification. Instead of a formal statement, the strategy of a flexible spatial matrix provides a framework for potential uses and alterations in time. Besides capturing this moment, it provides a system for capturing future moments.