One of the messages collected as part of Archipelago reads, “We live in bad design…” I tend to agree. Having lived the last few years in Los Angeles, I now think much of human loneliness is purely a matter of geography. Archipelago addresses social isolation caused by flawed urban design. I felt that the image of desert islands floating down city streets was an appropriate answer to people’s daily struggle against geography and space.

The islands act as vehicles that carry communication instead of people or goods. They have no predefined destination. Instead their mobility initiate chance encounters and encourage people to leave the “desert island” of their daily routine. Each island stores empty bottles, paper and pen. Those who come across them are invited to imagine themselves as castaways and write a message in a bottle addressed to the world or someone in it. Each island therefore becomes a node in a network of empathy.

Archipelago was commissioned for the 2010 01SJ Biennial by ZER01 with the support of the James Irvine Foundation. 250 messages were collected over four days and published on the project website.

Special Thanks:
Tiffany Huang
Patrick Lydon
Greg Witt
Richard Lemarchand
Jill Short
Alex Gibson
Will Schlough
Click here to read the messages collected.

Photo Credit: Patrick Lydon