Data Jam in Chalkwell Park
Non Groups Interventions into Chalkwell have creolised around a focus upon patterns of movement. Lisa intends on planting contradictory signs to ward people off both the paths and the grass simultaneously, Manali has settled upon the speed limit(road signs) for the joggers in the park, Anita intends on creating sonic legislation to alter the permissable spaces of loud noise in the park, Cliff will be creating new centres of stasis by transforming the park into a library, and I am going to attempt to create a new path in the park by staking out new paths via wivvy sticks.
Graham has steered me towards using wivvy sticks, and even though there is not a trace of information about these sticks on the internet, I have it on good authority that these sticks (birch branches daubed with red paint) are used by sailors in creeks and estuarys to mark high levels of mud. Given the commanding view of the estuary visible from most of Chalkwell Park this seemed quite appropriate.
painting the branches
I had hoped to do an intervention in the urinals, but I wasn’t satisfied that any of the ideas I had were specific enough to the parks media ecology (i.e. that they could be extended to any urinal anywhere) and I was more drawn to patterns of movement.
However the constant fretting about what would happen to our interventions if it rained coupled with my insistence that we work with the rain (and thus consider it a factor that determines the flows of movement through the park) lead to me resolving to install a number of temporary umbrella shelters in Chalkwell Park. I had read that in the history of common parks that paths were traditionally marked by flanking avenues of trees and so this, in tandem with my appreciation of having a nearby tree during the downpours that accompanied most of the field research we did, made me resolve that my umbrellas should be located in the areas of Chalkwell Park that didn’t have a tree within dashing distance of the path.
On the day of the Data Jam I decided to bisect the meadow section of Chalkwell Park, as it was the only area of Chalkwell where the estuary was not visible.
Video of the path traced by Wivvy Sticks
http://www.youtube.com/user/Quadr0phobiac#p/a/u/0/4SSxnGPa5Dc (warning, camera quality a little atrocious)
In an ironic fashion that I couldn’t but appreciate, after I had decided upon an intervention that relied upon rain to function the day turned out to be wonderfully sunny. Thus my umbrella’s had little cause to be utilised (save as a weapon by a local child), but they did earn some nods of approval from those strolling through the park that day.
Near the playground
opposite the cricket field