swinging to work
The now infamous New York City subway dictate “if you see something,
say something,” confiscated our eyes and paired perception with
suspicion. To look is to help us [ the police] interrogate and
convict. In this atmosphere of hostility and numbness, I refuse to
surrender my eyes. I swing my way to work, taking the monotonous
commute to the playground with an innocent act. The swing encourages
collective imagination. Please take a turn. The swing has a double
life, living incognito as a functional bag. I accept commissions for
bags, but you can also make your own swing with a gym bag and rope,
three belts connected together, or a normal swing.
Amidst the anonymous intimacy of subway mornings, of subterranean trains of sleeping fists piled in totem-pole-of-hands railings, I want to make eye contact with commuting neighbors.
Here is my swing for the subway, disguised as a bag. With 1000 mesh “L-train grey” cordura, webbing, sliders, hooks, velcro, and snaps, I constructed a bag using industrial sewing machines (with help from an industrial sewing company). The bag transforms from a backpack, handbag, or book bag of 11×4×12 to a swing of 11×24×2 with adjustable
(25″ to 50″max) straps that hook around the handrail of the subway.
I hope that the innocent amusement of swinging on the subway eclipses the atmosphere of suspicion and insulation that random searches (and the motto “if you see something say something”) produces. May playful engagement in public space provide a plausible alternative to the monotony of routine!
History: The swinging project began in 2004 and continues to evolve. I will use the industrial prototypes (up to 10) throughout Conflux for spontaneous fissures in traditional commuting.
Note on Flying: The swing began my Flying Lessons. Gravitation is a phenomenon through which all objects attract each other. Flight is the process by which an object achieves sustained movement through the air. Flying is the only way to escape a two-dimensional existence.
