Project Description:
The theme of the rEvolve show was cause and
effect, and each work included was an unique proposal to harness
the power of a stationary bicycle in order to effect change.
I chose to design a portable living unit
out of recycled materials from Habitat for Humanity. ‘POD
PAD’ is built on wheels and is towable by a bicycle. The
bicycle also serves as a generator of electrical power and is
set up inside the living unit while on exhibit. When engaged by
a viewer, it generates power for a reading lamp and a small radio/mp3 player. The radio plays a looped
sound-collage sampled from three different sources that interrupt
and overlap one another. The sources are: 1. sections from
Hakim Bay’s TAZ or Temporary Autonomous Zone (read by him)
2. a mp3/tape loop by Richard Foreman from the Ontological Hysteric
Theater, and 3. police dispatch-radio activity.
The structure is composed of uniform white
building units that can be disassembled and stacked for storage.
The project is a hybrid of modernist idealism and contemporary
practicality, and an absurd plan for living off the grid. It is
an impossible proposal that reflects the ideologies of its references;
but the questions I hope it prompts about freedom, agency and
self-sufficient living are timely.
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