Imaginary Cities

'The city they speak of has much of what is needed to exist, whereas the city that exists on its site, exists less.' 
Invisible Cities, Italo Calvino

Imaginary Cities is a sculpture/sound piece exploring the concept of real versus imagined cities, specifically in relation to New York City.

The project focuses on the myths and fantasies that characterise the Big Apple and the construction of these hyper realities through pop culture, travel guides and literature.

The project involves creating an anti-contamination travel suit using woven fragments of Lonely Planet Guides, novels by New York writers such as Tom Wolfe and Brett Easton Ellis, and National Geographic articles about the city. The project also includes a soundscape inspired by the New York of popular culture, and created using samples from films and songs that have the Big Apple as their focus and have shaped my idea/expectations of the city.

For the second part of the project I will take the suit and soundscape to New York City and will document my interaction with the city from within the protective shield provided by the travel suit/sound piece.