Jeremy Beaudry / projects and texts

Unbinding Boundaries

2003 - 2005 / Champaign, USA

Unbinding Boundaries is a series of projects which explores the socio-spatial divisions and potential connections between two adjacent districts in central Champaign that are bisected by the north-south railroad: to the west, downtown Champaign and, to the east, a working-class residential neighborhood and a commercial area known to be the historic center of the town. These projects focus on one site in particular: a pedestrian underpass located just north of university avenue.

Line Drawing
The first project in the series is perhaps best described as a statement of the problem at hand, a kind of declaration. A narrow band of sand is spread from one side of the underpass to the other, running north-south. With hands pressed together, a line is drawn in the sand with my fingertips along the length of the band. This is the proverbial line drawn in the sand. A challenge, a dare. But a dare to whom, and from whom? Who crosses it? Why do they cross? What does their crossing mean? The evidence of this criss-crossing is documented by the displacement and disturbance of the sand. Eventually, as more and more pedestrians pass, the line is blurred.

Clean Sweep
For the second intervention in the underpass, the entire area was swept clean with a push broom of all its accumulated debris and trash—rusted metal flakes and chipped concrete, broken glass and wood scraps, mud, rocks, and left-over sand. The material was formed into a gentle arc bisecting the underpass, reminiscent of the intial band of sand in the first project.

Clean Sweep Hemisphere
Again, all debris within the underpass is meticulously swept into a half-circle protruding from the southern wall. The serial nature of these (and future) interventions creates an anonymous community between myself and the other habitual users of the underpass, while also mapping an entropic cycle: the organization of trash and its subsequent dispersal, and over and over again.

Frames In Place Of
Photographs of different views of the underpass are framed and placed in situ exactly where each picture was taken. Both marker and offering, each framed image points the pedestrian to inspect an aspect of the underpass but also documents the subtle changes that happen within the space over time. To date, 3 of the 4 photographs have disappeared.