6/20
1/1
2010
Ad Absurdum is a text-based work that explores the conceptual, physical, and cultural distances between two locations, namely Portland, Oregon, USA and Berlin, Germany. In it, a descriptive text that lays out the parameters of the project itself is translated from English to German and back using on-line software 2940 times. This number is derived from the real distance between the two cities (straight through the earth rather than along its curved surface), combined with the mathematical difference between the Metric and Imperial systems of measurement. This process reveals gaps and layers of distortion that are determined by the assumptions and limitations of the technology. In the end, an entirely new text is created following a shifting trajectory of dislocated meanings and associations.
The text of Ad Absurdum is available here, and in book form thanks to Publication Studio.