Islay Tower is a would-be real estate development and online visual calendar: a tower of air, in the Inner Hebrides, that will be gradually made visible by images. My attempt to initiate this project in June 2012 failed due to transportation problems I encountered at Glasgow International Airport. I hope to return to Scotland in the winter of 2013 to complete the preliminary stage.
Having purchased a bottle of Laphroaig single malt whiskey, I was awarded a lifetime lease on one square foot of land on the island where the whiskey is distilled. While lessees may not physically cultivate said land, no stipulation is made against virtual development. Atop this plot, the tower of air will be built collaboratively in three phases.
First, I intend to travel to the plot and photograph it from each of the eight principal compass winds, at three respective distances (totaling 24 images). These perspectives will be posted online to create a navigable virtual equivalent of the site. Prospective participants will then be invited to purchase one cubic foot of air (one story of the tower).
The cost of the air will be any monetary sum greater than zero, designated by the purchaser. Each participant may purchase only one story. The participant must be a person I have met and can remember. In exchange for their purchase, I will think of the participant once per day for seven days.
Except on the fourth day, each thought will be translated into a 12x12x12 inch (300 ppi resolution) assemblage of images (sometimes including text) with flat foreground, middle distance, and background layers appearing at depths staggered according to the viewerʼs perspective. These cubic assemblages will extend sequentially to the left and right of the participantʼs air. On the fourth day, the participant and I will think about nothing for the same sixteen minutes.
The raising of 108 stories within the aforementioned virtual site will conclude the online phase of the project. Subsequently, I hope to return to the distillery and, using smoke as an ad hoc screen, project the image of the tower to scale. Finally, each image-text assemblage could be built out of glass--- and the resulting sculpture installed at the original site or elsewhere.
At Islay, I will need a tape measure, compass, nail, twine, permanent marker, and chessboard. I will ask an employee of the distillery whether my plot will move with the ground in time or remain mathematically fixed according to latitude and longitude.
Islay Tower is a would-be real estate development and online visual calendar: a tower of air, in the Inner Hebrides, that will be gradually made visible by images. My attempt to initiate this project in June 2012 failed due to transportation problems I encountered at Glasgow International Airport. I hope to return to Scotland in the winter of 2013 to complete the preliminary stage.
Having purchased a bottle of Laphroaig single malt whiskey, I was awarded a lifetime lease on one square foot of land on the island where the whiskey is distilled. While lessees may not physically cultivate said land, no stipulation is made against virtual development. Atop this plot, the tower of air will be built collaboratively in three phases.
First, I intend to travel to the plot and photograph it from each of the eight principal compass winds, at three respective distances (totaling 24 images). These perspectives will be posted online to create a navigable virtual equivalent of the site. Prospective participants will then be invited to purchase one cubic foot of air (one story of the tower).
The cost of the air will be any monetary sum greater than zero, designated by the purchaser. Each participant may purchase only one story. The participant must be a person I have met and can remember. In exchange for their purchase, I will think of the participant once per day for seven days.
Except on the fourth day, each thought will be translated into a 12x12x12 inch (300 ppi resolution) assemblage of images (sometimes including text) with flat foreground, middle distance, and background layers appearing at depths staggered according to the viewerʼs perspective. These cubic assemblages will extend sequentially to the left and right of the participantʼs air. On the fourth day, the participant and I will think about nothing for the same sixteen minutes.
The raising of 108 stories within the aforementioned virtual site will conclude the online phase of the project. Subsequently, I hope to return to the distillery and, using smoke as an ad hoc screen, project the image of the tower to scale. Finally, each image-text assemblage could be built out of glass--- and the resulting sculpture installed at the original site or elsewhere.
At Islay, I will need a tape measure, compass, nail, twine, permanent marker, and chessboard. I will ask an employee of the distillery whether my plot will move with the ground in time or remain mathematically fixed according to latitude and longitude.