No alarms and no surprises; the rise of the domestic non-place

The term non-place is defined by Marc Augé as 'a space that cannot be defined as relational, or historical, or concerned with identity.' The key defining factor for Augé is that non-places are transitory; they are spaces we flow through. As such any effect they have on us is temporary. This thesis charts the spread of the non-place from spaces of transit to spaces of habitation and the consequences which ensue.The appearance of the non-place in high schools is examined, looking specifically at the spate of random mass shootings that have occurred in America since 1992. The shootings are an act of extreme performance, facilitated by the architectonics of the non-place. In the contemporary office we see how the principles of late capitalism have incorporated the principles of the non-place to isolate and control the precariat employee. The mall presents the first example of how the non-place has become both habitable and desirable. The pure singularity of the mall’s consumer community not only makes us feel comfortable but it also enables the oxymoronic position of sincerely performing. The home, the so-called foundation of identity, memory and place, is revealed as a non-place in which we are required to be both the producer and consumer of performed identity. The Internet is not a non-place in itself but it is used as a means of expressing non-place sexuality. The Internet is vital to our understanding of the quotidian practicalities of the non-place individual. The non-place is also examined through the poetics of practice. Produced with this thesis is a series of works which wallow in, critique and challenge the non-place.If the non-place's ambition is universality then the temporary effects becomes permanent. Jean-luc Nancy, Giorgio Agamben and George Bataille provide the philosophic platform from which these effects can be properly examined. Through an extensive engagement with constructs of community, identity and performance the trueramifications of the domestication of the non-place is revealed