the faith between each heartbeat that another will come
2019
video

We live with a lot of science visual language that we largely don’t think about. Weather maps are a good example. They describe pressure, temperature, densities of air masses and precipitation. Things we can’t see up close, or predict in a very localized way, only vaguely at a distance can we get some kind of a sense of things.

I think about this when I see photos and footage of those wind tunnels that they test cars and planes in. Those streaks of smoke they pump in are a kind of science visual language. It’s not something so much that you measure or write a formula over – those streams of smoke give you a sense of the shape of the air, and you can make predictions over how changes to the topology of the object being tested will effect that flow.

It’s strange to realize how much of our interactions with the natural world are invisible. How many things that we count on with literally blind faith, or that we simply neglect to think about.

As an expression of my interest, I built a wind tunnel in my studio out of foamcore, hot glue, a household fan, and 3,000 drinking straws to comb the airflow. I think it’s something I’ve always wanted to do – to make a toy out of something so serious to science and engineering.