Presentation of one further developed investigation.
(Oct 8,2024)
Based on week 1. I focused on one path in the park and selected ten items that people had left behind to track down. Keep track of how they changed in shape and position over the four days.
I categorized the changes in the items as follows: five items disappeared on both the second and third days, while the remaining five were consistently present in the park.
However, some items showed significant changes in position and form, whereas others exhibited only subtle variations.
I gradually realized that taking photos caused me to stop thinking unconsciously, so I began making notes and sketches to document the changes in the objects each day. I used my shoes as a unit of measurement to estimate their positions, allowing me to track and record them.
Something interesting happened: as I was documenting the changes to the chicken packing box the next day, a man walked by, picked it up, and threw it in the trash.
The cookie bag only lasted one day, making it the shortest item ever.
The can disappeared on the third day…
Tissue that was folded the next day…
Lost the cap of the pen…
A lump of stubborn paper under the exercise machine…
A candy wrapper…
Hidden cigarette case (it’s always hard to find it)…
Tissue two that traveled a long way…
‘Weathered’ McDonald’s bag…
In fact, I also recorded the change of garbage cans at different times to see when is there the most trash.
Summary and reflection：
This week, after spending more time sitting in the park and observing, I feel that I had more direction than the first week. I tried to create a personal and creative system for investigating and documenting these movements.
After the tutorial, I realized I needed to include more details and information about the items—perhaps by creating detailed drawings or notes speculating on what would happen to the trash—and consider how to annotate them. Additionally, I should think about how to organize these into a publication or folder for the final work. (possibly as a set of maps for the park)
Regarding the process of recording and mapping： I would look for fixed references around the objects to help me document and measure them. However, locating these objects was not always easy, especially at the beginning. I remember wandering around the park for nearly ten minutes before I finally found the cigarette case I had recorded the day before. Even so I found the process enjoyable; going to the park each day felt like a treasure hunt guided by the “treasure map” I had drawn previously.
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