Wireless Chicago On The 'L' (2007)
Over the past few years, I have worked to investigate the evolution of the internet through relations of power, commerce, control, freedom, deterritorialization and reterritorialization. Wireless Chicago on the 'L' was a year-long project I completed in June 2007 which was inspired by the peculiar issues of access that trouble a city filled with wireless networks. The use of and availability of internet access via wireless networks easily alludes to the visible and invisible systems of urban stratification and reveals information about the socio-economic disparities and differences that exist in the space of the city.
Specifically, I traveled through the city of Chicago along the elevated ('L') train system mapping, recording, and reporting the wireless rich and poor, open and closed, costly and free networks. By mapping information about wireless networks onto the existing directional maps found in the train cars on the 'L', I was able to reveal the restrictions and the inherent territoriality of wireless networks.
These new maps were then placed back into the train cars where the old maps had been, displaying the additional information of which wireless networks were available along the train routes and whether they were secure/locked or open. The use of the 'L' was an important part of the project in that this train system is the physical link of the city which provides accessibility across a spectrum of economic conditions and the facilitation of a public journey experienced in the presence of others. It was vital that these maps existed in the trains themselves for several reasons.
One reason is that it is where they fit most naturally and served a function in the space. Additionally, when present in the train, these maps would take the viewer by surprise and pique their interest. In addition to the maps in the trains, handheld maps were distributed to train passengers at stations throughout the city. As a result of this project, I became interested in creating my own wireless, invisible structures or sculptures in both the gallery setting and public space. |
