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Larissa Fassler, Regent Street/Regent's Park (Dickens thought it looked like a racetrack), 2009

Chapter: Map of Utopia - History, Cartography, Worlds Design

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Unspectacular aspects of the city
As a form of cartography of everyday urban spaces, the works of Canadian artist Larissa Fassler focus on seemingly unspectacular aspects of cities as experienced by their inhabitants in daily life. Her works are based on numerous site visits, photographic documentation, and historical and architectural research, which are then translated into sculpture and drawing. Fassler’s attention is directed toward subway stations, streets, transportation routes, and public squares that were created primarily out of bureaucratic, economic, or political pragmatism rather than for design or social purposes. While she uses conventional architectural representational methods, such as models, plans, elevations, and floor plans, to depict these spaces, her work differs from the typical approach of urban planners or architects.

Ideology and urban planning
Thus, her own stride length, as well as the varying density of graffiti, posters, stickers, and pedestrians, becomes the architectural yardstick for Fassler’s “mind maps.” In the 2009 work Regent Street / Regent’s Park (Dickens thought it looked like a racetrack), she examines a historical example from the nineteenth century to explore how urban architecture began to promote individual freedom of movement while simultaneously restricting collective gatherings and movement. She is particularly interested in how ideology is embedded in urban planning.

Racetrack versus worker protest
Regent Street, with its wide, heavily trafficked roadway and relatively narrow sidewalks pressed directly against building facades, was deliberately designed like a “racetrack” so that people would not linger or gather for extended periods. During the era of rapid industrialization, the goal was to promote consumption and mobility, but above all to prevent demonstrations or riots by workers. Regent's Park, which connects to London’s famous shopping street, is also enclosed by several rings of fencing to regulate the flow of visitors.

Overload of images and signs
For this work, Fassler walked along Regent Street and around the park over several days, photographing as many shop signs, prohibition signs, stickers, fences, and barriers as possible. These were then traced, scanned, and mounted onto a true-to-scale street map. The result is an overload of images, logos, signals, and signs that subtly shape and regulate the movement and perception of pedestrians.

Audio

Note: The audio transcription is voiced by an AI.

Larissa Fassler, Regent Street/Regent's Park (Dickens thought it looked like a racetrack), 2009
Archival C-print
© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2026
Sammlung Deutsche Bank

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