COMMUTE: DITCH
video projection on sand, audio
20' x 16' x 8'
2004-2006

 

I researched the flat monotonous agricultural landscape that I commuted from my home to university, 80 miles away by traveling to and from school in a variety of ways paddling, biking, walking, etc. In commute: ditch, I kayaked from Champaign, IL to Springfield, IL. My 88 mile route took me through the region's water infrastructure: creeks, sloughs, drainage ditches, man-made lakes, and the Sangamon River. 150 years ago, the Sangamon River was the waterway that Lincoln and other pioneers traveled from northeast to southwest central Illinois. Now the river is little used and in many places not easily navigated. commute: ditch is poetic meditation of the experience of the "invisible", but ubiquitous water systems that we take for granted in our daily lives.

 

Play background ditch sounds.

 

 

Play excerpt #1.

 

 

Play excerpt #2.

 

 

Play excerpt #3.

 

 

Play excerpt #4.

 

 

 

images of ditch installation