Breaking down dominant conceptualisations of place: the transgressive potential in '143 Liverpool Street Familia's' engagement with the 'Downing Centre Courts'

In this paper, I draw from my experience in Sydney's breaking culture to expose the transgressive potential of hip-hop music and dance in (re)imagining dominant conceptualisations of place. My focus is limited to the front exterior of 143-147 Liverpool Street in Sydney's Central Business District (CBD). During the day, this site - now known as the 'Downing Centre Courts' - is a milieu of government-sanctioned regulation; yet by night, the crew 143 Liverpool Street Familia's affective engagement transforms the space into one of creative potential. To critically examine this relationship I draw on my active involvement as a member of the crew and analyse my experiences through a Deleuze-Guattarian framework. This dual perspective turns a critical lens on both the way place is organised through 'common-sense' regulatory practices and it's capacity to be re-organised through creative engagement.