The law that controls and governs us. Its presence surrounding everything we do. The control it implements. The inaccessible complexity of the langue used within the law and legal documents. The way decisions are made on our behalf, the brutal manner in which these decisions and choices are delivered. Physical destruction, irreversibility and resistance. These issues form the basis of the concerns addressed within the piece created for the Album show. This research directed work aims to create a reflection and tension between past, present and future. The relationship between object, material and the Compulsory Purchase Order text is bought into question, as is the deliberate ephemeral nature of the site-specific installation piece.

To ‘Compulsory Purchase’ land, homes and buildings, what does this term mean and represent in today’s society? The theories and concepts of my work deal with issues surrounding the ‘Compulsory Purchase Order’ document. Specifically looking at what this document represents, its function, how it is delivered, the language used within it and its significance as an act. The physical presence of such a document juxtaposed with the unobtainable laws it empowers. The irreversibility of what is lost in this process; the lack of choice and the way control and authority are implemented. These concerns address not only the ‘Compulsory Purchase Order’ issues but are also a reflection and political critique of wider social concerns.

The blind embossing of text outlining the intention of a Compulsory Purchase Order, whereby the text becomes physically part of the cheap, mass-produced plastic wallet, permanently changing its structure and use, references the concerns that such a document represents. The words become embedded within the object, signifying the extent of the intentional damage of the language. Obvious in its physical form, powerful yet subtle and complex in the layer of narrative requiring the viewer to search for the message translated through the piece, echoes the way in which such orders are delivered.