#cakeism

Alexander Findley, 2020

Schrödinger’s City

Schrödinger’s City imagines a post-Brexit scenario in which a new form of 'Cakeist' architecture emerges in the heart of the City of London. The project simultaneously manifests the paradoxes of the Cakeist attitude that has characterised the Brexiteers' response to EU negotiations, and exposes the illusion of a singular national identity in the 21st century. 

In Britain, we have recently witnessed an an ever growing appetite for the paradoxical, described by many as the "irresistible rise of Cakeism", whereby a contingent of the population wishes to see the strengthening of borders, the reinstatement of power to the nation state, and the protection of a nostalgic idea of British identity, whilst simultaneously wanting Britain to continue to act and trade globally under the present conditions provided by the EU. Epitomised by proposals for a "Schrödingers border" (where a border simultaneously both exists and does not exist) as a solution to the Irish backstop, the Cakeist seeks to have the benefits of both national isolationism and global connectivity. In other words, to have their cake and eat it. 

Using fiction as a critical tool, the project explores a future scenario for London in which the financial sector looks to use the mechanism of the Stock Connect (a cross-border investment channel allowing the UK to trade across different time zones) to erode geographical distance and compress time, undermining newly strengthened borders in an attempt to retain its global financial position. 

Within this scenario, London creates stock connects with both the New York and Shanghai stock exchanges, resulting in near continuous trading leading to the creation of a truly 24-hour city. National identity is sacrificed in pursuit of economic security as the City inevitably becomes three cities at once - The City of Shanghai-London, The City of London-London, and The City of New York-London; overlaid and out-of-sync, in which little is left unaffected.