In Spring 2007, kanarinka ran the entire evacuation route system in Boston and measured its distance in breaths. The project is an attempt to measure our post-9/11 collective fear in the individual breaths that it takes to traverse these new geographies of insecurity.

 

The $827,500 Boston emergency evacuation system was installed in 2006 to demonstrate the city’s preparedness for evacuating people in snowstorms, hurricanes, infrastructure failures, fires and/or terrorist attacks.

 

It takes 154,000 breaths to evacuate Boston consists of a series of running performances in public space (2007), a web podcast of breaths (2007), and a gallery installation of the archive of breaths (2008).

 

If you want to learn more, email kanarinka AT ikatun DOT com for upcoming dates & locations or just subscribe to the podcast.

 

Images

 

Bio

kanarinka is a new media artist whose research interests include the politics of digital information, feminist performance art, participatory culture and the emotional landscape of Homeland Insecurity. She is Co-Founder of the non-profit collective iKatun, a founding member of the Institute for Infinitely Small Things, and teaches at RISD’s Digital+Media Graduate Program and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

 

Contact: kanarinka AT ikatun DOT org or www.kanarinka.com

Thanks: Savic Rasovic, Ryan Sciano, Rob Coshow, Eric Forman, Mark Kellogg, iKatun, LEF Foundation, Boston Cyberarts Festival , RISD Professional Development Fund