with Granite City Arts and Design District, a project of fort gondo compound for the arts

Conversations with passersby about a time when they remembered the air are recorded and available for the public to hear on tandem bikes. As riders coordinate to cycle around the city, ecologies of the air are activated. The back-rider listens to stories while the front rider leads. Speech as a form of air combines with riders feeling the wind on their faces and seeing windsocks register air currents.

Windsocks are common in industrial areas to communicate which way the wind blows in case of emergency. Their presence in this project connects Granite City Art and Design District to their surroundings, as does intentionally leaving designated art spaces to encounter strangers and bring art into everyday spaces. This participatory project investigates air as an invisible substance that is shared by all living things. It relies on engaging the public to collect life experiences, that then develops connection between people and places.

Air quality issues linger in individual memories and simultaneously have far reaching impact in our well-being. In the industrial town, Granite City, the carbon emissions that create jobs, contribute to global warming that impacts sea level rise.