HIGHER ED (ECOLOGY AND DANCE) (2012)

HIGHER ED (2012)

iLAB Collaborative Residency 2012

Collaborators: Liz Barry, Jess Einhorn, and Lailye Weidman

Project website: http://higher-e-d.tumblr.com/

In our 6-month collaboration, we explored the physical relationship between the wind moving through urban environments and our bodies using the connective media of kite / balloon aerial mapping devices and weather observation movement scores during outdoor research activities.

Collecting data by kite, aerial photography presents us with an opportunity to see ourselves in the landscape and recognize our participation with the elements above. The triangular connection among the body, the camera, and the physical environment creates a dynamic and personal active collaboration. Energy in the swirling, surface level wind currents carries the reflection of urban built form in its turbulence; above the level of buildings, wind currents are affected by the urban heat island generated by the city itself. Higher-level wind currents are driven by diurnal and regional flows that can be continental in scale. Recognizing that we are active members of an urban ecosystem and larger global weather systems is an extremely empowering idea; employing the wind to view ourselves in our city helps us bring this realization home.