landform : chenier

some of my former investigations into the landscapes of louisiana, specifically the chenier region south of lake charles :

i was looking at the porosity and continual flux along the western side of the louisiana southern coast. this series of geological forms was built through thousands of years of sediment deposition, flowing from the mouth of the mississippi on the southeastern side of the coast and gradually being transported by the wave motion in the gulf. as the cheniers disappear, the interior marshes are exposed to an increase in salinity and potential storm surges.

just another look at the fabric of the landscape.

object

i have been regarding my systems of technologies as objects, as individual communicating entities that would be able to respond to one another and the landscape in which they were submerged. machines in conjunction with a series of protocells, imitating the natural signals within the environment, measuring electric currents and reading chemical levels, examining the traces of the former worlds.

i need to stop.

what are the natural geometries that i am trying to create? where is the landscape exactly? if man has been controlling and disrupting continuously, is there a different way to handle that level of authority? what happens in the gaps and crevices that have been created? how is that action different than in the areas still holding strong? how can i begin to spatialize these concepts instead of objectifying them?

we will see.

evocation

I have been looking into plant intelligence and the reactionary systems within their root structures. I have been looking at electromagnetism and the transmittance of photons as light specifically -- stimulation through varying oscillations and the electric charges that attract or repel. I have been looking at the power of movement in plants and how different stressors affect them. What is the transmembrane potential of plant systems and the potential of those membranes as capacitors. I have been looking at probes that measure the ionic currents driven through cells and tissues to encourage motion and development. Thinking about a response system that simultaneously measures the current ionic activity and emits different frequencies to create different reactions or stimulants.

I have found plant studies that show carbon plucked from the air to forge defensive compounds, airborne alarm cells, and resistance influencing chemical release.

I am interested in the relationship between plant neurobiology and existing ecosystems, the ability for vegetation to begin to fortify itself against existing or future conditions. I have been thinking about a series of devices that encourage reactions among root structures specifically, ie. growth, defensive chemical release, siphonic activity, and reproduction. Obviously, all of these thoughts are in the very early stages of development, as to how they will function, communicate and realize potential of existing systems.

One of these devices takes into account the components of a probe that measures electric currents through conductive medias, as well as capturing/reading enzymes and chemicals that are released in response to current conditions. Another releases proteins encouraging reactions in response to those conditions. What are the communications between the "brains" of plant root structures and these systems? How can the device imitate and/or strengthen natural signals? What are the traces of an ecosystem as it fails? How can a system analyze distress signals and subsequently help transmit them? As it evolves, the project is a series of devices that transforms/assists/regenerates existing ecosystems.

I have also been working out how these devices are powered and could they survive on certain energies? Could they harness any potential through crude oil? for siphonic attempts specifically? how would the others survive?

way out.

the underground just happens to be the place where the rhythm of monotony is most apparent.

could you take advantage of the habit of following signs?

could you bring someone back overground in a different part of the city?

could you lead them on a path underground?

how long would it take for someone to realize that they were in unfamiliar territory?

two.

the question : look at photographs of most modern architecture and you will find nothing animate in it, on it or within it. we have the technology to make buildings and the environments within them into part of the active animate performance that is everyday life. how do we create architecture that is animate and part of a wider performance? is anthropomorphism in architecture a useful tool? how do we represent this type of idea? what metaphors can we use?

in the last five weeks of being in london, i have attempted to submerge myself in my new environment. i have been constantly wandering, and i gave up knowing exactly where i was going and how i was going to get there quite a long time ago. i stumbled around the city, making sense of places and their relationships to one another. due to the fact that i was exploring in this manner, i feel as though i have happened upon many places that i never would have found otherwise.

the city has so much to offer, how could i not take advantage of this?

people dont.

the place where the monotony of every day life is most apparent -- the london underground. i use it to get from point a to point b. every. single. day. i am underground and therefore, my relationship with the city is lost. i know my place in the city based on the tube map pasted all over each carriage, but it too has been simplified. i dont have to think.

why must we simplify everything to the point where it is beyond recognition?

i find my way out of and around each station, helplessly led by the signs directing me to my next location. i never have to slow down. i never have to pause. i too am consumed by the speed and efficiency that is the tube station.

northern line --> picadilly line --> victoria line --> hammersmith and city line --> way out -->

i need to break free from the pace and the stream. i need to find a way to show that there is more to the city of london than an endless existence of "stuck in a rut." there is more to life than hurry up and wait.

there is a different way out.

one.

physical. technical. cultural ingredients of the dish as well as the explorations of london.

i could tell you a lot of different reasons why i chose this dish.

i could explain to you, some intricate, presumably fabricated and detailed response about how cajun jambalaya relates to my explorations of the city of london.

i could say that this meal appeals to the senses in a way similar to that of the city. the colours. the smells. the diversity of ingredients and their relationship to one another.

i could tell you that this meal is completely self motivated in that, for me, it is a comfort food, reminding me of the flavours of my home as i completely immerse myself in the unfamiliar.

i could describe to you the ways that this meal, like any truly interesting place, is compiled of elements that are immediately understandable as well as others that are perceivably there yet totally indescribable.

in actuality, i chose this dish because it is a representation of who i am and where i come from. this version of jambalaya is compiled of many flavours and ingredients that have been substituted relative to place and experience. it is, like me, a foundation established by my roots and origins that has become altered through the desire and ability to try new things.

walking around.