Common spaces in apartment buildings are breeding grounds for awkward encounters with neighbors, as we reluctantly greet and narrowly squeeze past each other while dodging swinging doors. Living in an apartment only provides residents with semi-privacy in both the individual unit and in the shared transitional areas.

Representations of architectural close-calls – like a door in a stairwell swinging open just an inch away from the stair railing – underline the tensions that are a result of living in close proximity to total strangers. I re-create spaces from my own apartment building at scale using home-improvement materials such as beige paint and linoleum floor tiles, representing a landlord’s cheap renovations. Highlighting the absurdities of this interior architecture, I am making light of the often uncomfortable, dangerous, dramatic, and sometimes comical nature of living in multi-unit housing.

Angela St. Vrain’s Website: www.angelastvrain.com

Instagram: @angst_vrain