| Abstract: | Human geography is concerned with the co–relation of society and space. However, every device that has been used to express the co–relation of social space breaks down. Consequently, this paper engages with the fundamental difficulty of providing a consistent and effective rendering of relations. Specifically, the paper explores the poststructural work of Gunnar Olsson, a writer who has provided the most sustained and far–reaching engagement with co–relation to date. Consideration is given to Olsson's deconstruction of logic, dialectics, semiotics and the empty forms of co–relation (=, /, —, □, ?, ○, etc.). This deconstruction enables one to appreciate the ethical and political performativity of Olsson's surrealist and hyperrealist optical art: dematerialized points, torpedoes, ovoids, Moebius bands, and so on. In addition, the paper raises a peculiar but nonetheless vital question: what is the colour of co–relation and social space? In answering this question, the paper moves through two monochrome series (one rendered in black and white; the other in blue–grey) and one Technicolor series (rendered in ruby and gold). In the final showdown, however, the dyes leak in all directions. Social space is iridescent. |
