Space and time are the two elements we living beings have defined as being completely fundamental to our existence. In the modern city much desire surrounds these pivotal concepts, and our experiences of them in this sphere are often heightened and condensed. The space I would like to analyse - as simultaneously favoured and feared - in this paper is specific to the city of Sydney on Sunday the eighteenth of February 1996. On this day four hundred odd people were transported to Shark Island, a very small land mass located under two kilometres from shore in Rose Bay, for a one day event known as Cryogenesis.

Cryogenesis was both 'Temporary Autonomous Zone' (TAZ) and 'Heterotopia'. A space privileged by knowledge and access, a transitory event which challenged everyday experiences of the city and inverted many rules of the social. Hakim Bey, in his/her book 'The Temporary Autonomous Zone, Ontological Anarchy, Poetic Terrorism' defines the TAZ as follows;

"The TAZ is like an uprising which does not engage directly with the State, a guerilla operation which liberates an area (of land, of time, of imagination) and then dissolves itself to re-form elsewhere/elsewhen, before the State can crush it. Because the State is concerned primarily with Simulation rather than substance, the TAZ can "occupy" these areas clandestinely and carry on its festal purposes for quite a while in relative peace. . . . The TAZ is thus a perfect tactic for an era in which the State is omnipresent and all-powerful and yet simultaneously riddled with cracks and vacancies. And because the TAZ is a microcosm of that "anarchist dream" of a free culture, I can think of no better tactic by which to work toward that goal while at the same time experiencing some of its benefits here and now". (Bey: 1991: p101)

Arguably the TAZ is closely related to the 'heterotopia', although the intentions of the TAZ are understood to be far more subversive. Foucault, in the transcription of his 1967 lecture 'Of Other Spaces' defines five principles of what he coins a 'heterotopia', or "counter-sites, a kind of effectively enacted utopia in which the real sites, all the other real sites that can be found within the culture, are simultaneously represented, contested, and inverted" (Foucault: 1986: p24).

The condensation of lived experience for inner city youth in the macrocosm of Sydney is exemplified by the microcosmic, 'heterotopic' adventure that was Cryogenesis. The pressures of time, space and the capitalist economy make it difficult for young people living in this urban centre to take holidays, time is a gnarling dog snapping at the heels of those walking the streets of 1996 - yet often faithful, friendly and playful. There is a chronic need to go faster, achieve more in less time, with less money, less space. Cryogenesis offered a one day ten dollar getaway, to a destination a bus ride from the city centre yet still an isolated island paradise with a picturesque view of Sydney's icons, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. The city/youth relationship, despite being in many ways suffocating, is still desired, although we crave time to slow down and space to run free, we are unwilling and unable to take our bodies very far away from the adrenalin to which we are addicted that pumps through the veins of the smog haunted city streets that nurture and oppress us.

Access to this transitory 'heterotopia' was privileged, only a finite number could attend and awareness of the event was limited to those who read certain publications, frequented other privileged spaces, or knew those who did. Aside from special knowledge, the ritual of entry to this essentially Sydney space, magically incorporating its cityscape and the amniotic fluid of the harbour offering rebirth and renewal, required a short journey by Ferry. Immediately those on board were removed from their mainland life and forced into contact with others also on the tiny vessel, the rituals of separation established and entrenched on shore were severed as strangers discussed the passage across the water and, for some, how it propelled them, physically and emotionally, into memories of similar journeys on Southeast Asian seas.

Once on the island the condensation of the holidayesque experience was also realised in the landscape, which provided all the trappings of a seaside resort only in miniature - a beach, cliffs to explore, pockets of trees, a grassy hilltop, panoramic views and even a pagoda. This outdoor sun drenched place of beauty was also adorned with a large sound system akin to that found in the private space of a city nightclub, on which revered DJ's created soundscapes to enhance the environment. The realm of darkness, of dancing in an enclosed indoor space of timelessness and eternal night that is the club or the rave, this technology bound modern phenomenon was brought into the finite daytime and out into public, visible space. Night and day, indoor and outdoor, public and private all merged into one on the small Shark Island landmass and social practices were displaced and inverted as a consequence.

The island location meant elements of nature which are usually overridden by technology in the city, were crucial to it's success. This was especially apparent given that on the original date chosen for the event rain intervened. Luckily February eighteen enjoyed sunshine, yet unlike the nightclub which defies time using enclosed space, flashing lights and blackened windows to prevent daytime intruding on the rituals of dance, temporal hours of sunlight ruled over all and the children of technology were forced to obey the laws of nature once more. Also contributing to a sense of being on a one day holiday was the need for preparation and planning. Food and drink needed to be prepared for the day, and any other provisions to deal with the vulnerability relating to exposure to the elements and geography.

The day provided stimulation for all bodily senses, the eyes and ears being most privileged by the combined landscape, seascape and soundscape. In more subtle ways the senses of smell, touch and taste were also stimulated by the environment. The taste and smell of seaspray, fresh air, marijuana and increasingly warm alcohol, the feel of grass, sand, water and rocks under feet. temporarily freed from the bounds of shoes These senses also evolved throughout the day for many as other chosen stimulants altered states of mind and added to the sense of occasion, of celebration and of physical and mental travel away from the everyday.

The desire not to entirely sever the experience of Cryogenesis from city life, and its linking of clubland with beach resort meant bodily expression through movement and social interactions were more fluid yet still very rule bound. Mutually experienced rites of entry and the limited access to information about the day meant all involved had a sense of connection to one another. Some of the protective rituals of preserving individual space which are so highly developed in modern experiences of shared public places were removed, and strangers interacted without suspicion, yet social groups marked out their territories on the island via their picnic blankets. The mini holiday nature of the day encouraged frolicking and exploration and a return to the childish enthusiasm of summer holidays with the family. People swam, frisbeed, played skittles and danced, bodies were liberated and every element of the one day adventure was connected to pleasuring the mind and body.

All these elements brought together certainly made for an amazing experience, and much of what I adore about Sydney as a modern urban space, as harbour city is clearly visible. Yet inextricably linked to these pleasures are my fears, fears relating to the condensation of time, of space and of experience, to the potential for life to be so fast I can't keep up. Essentially to my recognition of the paradoxical nature of modern life.

Special K. 1996.

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