Systemic Vacancies

Free State Film and Art Festival, Lawrence, Kansas, 2014

By rear projecting video onto all windows on two facades of the historic Turnehalle in Lawrence, this work was meant to breathe life into a structure that is vacant and neglected, yet holds layered histories important to the local community, while calling attention to local consequences of global systems.

Original video footage of over a dozen international maritime shipping routes was projected using six projectors and computers wirelessly networked to play the same video simultaneously. Also included in the video is footage of the Clackamas River in Oregon City, Oregon, which is widely believed to be the end of the Oregon Trail, highlighting the historic migration route that began in the eastern Kansas region.

This project was supported by the Lawrence Art Center.

*Although Turnehalle was neglected for quite some time, The Lawrence Preservation Alliance has recently acquired the property, has made many improvements, and has now put the property up for sale.