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2.803km of 7.69km
Year
***last edited 24 01 2018
Location
Franz Josefs Kai 3, Vienna, AT
Exhibition
Elsewhere.Observations on Islands
Format
Spatial Intervention / Sculpture
Material
2.803km of Cotton Thread, Wood, Paint, Hardware
Dimensions
Inbetweener # 1: 335cm x 235cm x 83cm (11ft x 7.7ft x 2.7ft)
Inbetweener # 2: 276cm x 235cm x 91.4cm (9ft x 7.7ft x 3ft)
Curator
Marlies Wirth
Concept: Marlies Wirth & Andreas Duscha
Production
Marc-Alexandre Dumoulin, Eva Sommeregger, Randy Sterling Hunter, Claudia Slanar and Ryan Crawford
In an attempt to unfold the 7.69km perimeter line of Highland Park — a political island nested within the city of Detroit — I walked in circles for 2.803km, wrapping wooden frames with the same length of thread until the boundary line became a surface, and the frames were covered in their entirety. The frames were then assembled into two sculptures that were plugged into the architecture of the gallery. When approached in space, the thread created a moiré effect, animating the sculpture’s surfaces with optical interference patterns.______One of two autonomous cities within Detroit, Highland Park developed independently in part because of the auto industry’s economic and political interests in the area. When entering or exiting the island, there are no clear visual indications that you’re in a separate municipal territory that has its own system of governance; its borders are unclear. ____Installed in two leftover spaces between rooms, the sculptural islands ended up creating structures of social negotiation. At the opening, they became clogged arteries that slowed down visitors; self-governed borders emerged when people had to wait in line to pass through the thread and into the next room.