Absalon’s Cells: A Queer Reappraisal of Individualism

In contemporary architectural discourse, the interplay between individualism and domesticity remains conspicuously underexplored. Instead, prevailing narratives champion collectivity, with shared living arrangements and communal frameworks often positioned as hallmarks of progressive design. In her essay, Klea Ott challenges this prevailing emphasis on the dominant “We,” by reclaiming the overlooked “I.” Ott focuses on the experiments of Israeli-French artist Absalon, whose cell-like living units reflect a profound meditation on solitude, withdrawal, and self-care. Absalon’s work offers a poignant lens through which to reconsider the role of individualism—not as a rejection of collectivity, but as an alternative framework for understanding how we exist and dwell in relation to one another. Through this queer reappraisal of individuality, Ott invites us to rethink the relationship between individuality and collectivity, suggesting that architecture, rather than resolving this opposition, must articulate it as a condition of dwelling itself.