Tracing paper, charcoal, red thread

For recording my own routine, I have taken rubbings of the floor beneath my feet every 10 minutes over 10-hour periods on 10 different days. These rubbings not only reflect the physical place of their taking, but also the physical activity’s impression in the manner they were taken. Within the rigid parameters I set for myself, I work methodically and obsessively through the repetitious and mundane. However, I note that time is fluid. For many, time is a standard by which they set their day. Life is lived in timelines. Such timelines can overlap, cross, curl up, and fall down. We abide by schedules set for work, school, and recreation. We set goals to achieve and have our lives planned out before they are started. This enslaves us to our timelines, unless a rupture occurs.  Ruptures break apart the monotony of our experience and allow for new timelines to occur. They separate us from our previous lived experience in order to create a new experience to live. Some ruptures are welcomed, many are avoided. The routines we live within calm us. They make us feel safe. The unknown of ruptures scare us. The materiality of the work is important as the rubbings are layered with multiple timelines from additional lived experiences. The red thread establishes all timelines. It is what connects these personal, individual memories of time and space. While there is little progression in terms of content in the rubbings, new moments are created in reflection. These secondary rubbings help us recall and repeat, faintly yet succinctly. 

As this body of work grows, additional goals will be revealed. An aspect of social participation will be imperative to translating overarching similarities and differences within the lived experiences of other in relation to broader timelines. Next, I am asking others to record their activity and/or location in 10-minute increments – the expectation is not to have something every 10 minutes but some record as they are able in a single day. This prompt creates an order in the collection process to maintain a cohesive, aesthetic execution for the work.