OO_ (Oxygen Bar) provides a space for the synthetic to be actived through a series of of customised diffuse atmospheres that engage the olfactory alongside the haptic and aural. Inside OO_ the body is enveloped by a distillation of everyday conditions contained by layers of PVC that negotiate visibility and complicate intimacy in pursuit of relaxation within the city.

OO_ proposes an alternative mode of leisure that focuses on the evocative possibilites of the synthetic . Moving through the exterior (transperent) and interior (translucent) membranes the body is invited to recline on a clear pvc cloud. Either lying across or draped over the wobbly surface, scents of the everyday and synthetic world we inhabit are diffused one by one into the space; the vapour from laundry tumbling in a dryer, the astringency of asphalt in the rain, or the heady scent of mosquito repellent on a hot summer evening. To take repreive from these aromas an oxygen mask is supplied. Connected to an oxygen concetrator the mask emits a light stream of upcycled city air.

OO_ was installted in the city as part of Auckland Artweek 2017. Two interventions - St Patricks Square and St Kevin’s Arcade - softly transformed these settings into places where the “unnatural” is repositioned as a gestural and expressive force - where the synthetic maybe become poetic.