SARAH TREHERNE
UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG
The Subverse: Monuments to Hypertextuality
At first reading, parables and fairy-tales may
appear to have little do with architecture, but
architecture is as much concerned with communi-
cation and storytelling as it is with shelter. The
Subverse: Monuments to Hypertextuality is a series
of six stage sets that harness the dual nature of
fiction and theatre to confront the sensitive themes of
privilege, patrimony, corruption, and collusion in post-
apartheid South Africa. Set in the hyper-politicised
suburb of Saxonwold, The Subverse generates a
surreal landscape of socio-political enquiry.”
“Theatrical tactics - such as metaphor, diversion,
juxtaposition, absurdity, and fairy-tale - are used
to deliberately reconfigure the known narratives
of historical events, landmarks, monuments,
and accounts in order to reveal an alternative
narrative, the subverse, of past and present South
African politics.“
“‘Hypertext’ describes embedded links and
the endless layers of information that form a vast
web of cross-referencing between sites - in this
case, between the six stage sets. Each layer of
meaning conceals another, and with each tactical
transformation, the resultant architecture becomes
the stage on which a new story is enacted.”
Student Awards
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