A Segment of Approximately Twenty Two Thousand Four Hundred Miles Over Approximately 16.28 Days, is a hyperobject that materializes one instance of my daily commute from Pasadena to Valencia, California, between 2010 and 2013. I spent approximately 16.28 days driving approximately 22,400 miles between these two locations for work. The piece is derived from GPS data and field recordings completed on the morning of June 15, 2011, that encapsulates all driving decisions made and sounds heard along the 32.6 miles traversed in 29 minutes. The resulting data is mapped digitally in three-dimensional space and printed in layers of plastic to create a sculptural form to act as a physical representation of this everyday experience. A field recording from within the cabin of the automobile during this commute plays from surface transducers hidden in the base of the sculpture, causing the entire structure to become a resonator for the auditory experience of the solitary driver. The contrast of the static representation of the sculpture and the realtime soundscape functions as a conduit for critical examination of the commuter experience, both as abstract data and visceral experience.
This piece was made possible by Airwolf 3D, Butch Allen, Cerritos College’s Engineering Design and Production Technology, Electronic Countermeasures, Kerstin Hovland, James MacDevitt, Miodrag Micic, and Michael J. Day.