This project was realized and executed very quickly while at a workshop at Lasalle College of the Arts in Singapore. Made in collaboration with Nova Jiang.

Expanding on the concept of the Situationist “Derive”, this series of objects address ideas of disorientation in a foreign city, while at the same time addressing the unique urban landscape of Singapore. A traveler may tote the objects around in a briefcase, using them to enhance the experience of being lost. Each object addresses a specific aspect of ‘lostness’.

Item 1. Blinders that simulate the experience of tunnel vision at any given location.
Item 2. Flag for reclaiming unfamiliar space. Created from a “propagating” branch which will in turn, will yield a new tree as a gesture of thanks.
Item 3. A collaborative compass that affords paired travelers an exercise in compromise.
Item 4. A map of Singapore made of ice.

Here are some videos from other iterations of my “Removial Studies” series. These are the versions that I don’t view as entirely successful, but there are some nice parts to each of them. I wanted to include them because they are an important part of the process; in a way, they document my progress while learning to live with this machine. In this sense, the project fleshes out more as a true domestic intervention.

Here’s an initial sketch and an installation detail.

Initial attempts at mechanizing umbrellas. For a larger installation being done in collaboration with the Barbarian Group’s S.F. office. This installation will contain an array of 100 or so umbrellas mounted upside down in the ceiling. The umbrellas will be undulating in response to data in and around the office.

At the moment, this project is on standby pending further funding. We want to have the whole structure professionally fabricated and have been in contact with fabrication labs in the Bay Area.  More to come, hopefully.

Here’s a quick render that Robert made in Processing, with 1000 umbrellas, to visualize what kid of behavior we had in mind.