So check this out: for those of you who have read The Scar by China Mieville (and if you haven’t READ THIS AWESOME BOOK), here is the first steps of such an anarchic floating city in our world. The Swimming Cities.
The Swimming Cities is a group of hand made boats made entirely out of found materials which sail the Adriatic Sea.
Designed by the visual artist SWOON, the floating sculptures are descendants of the Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea (Hudson River, 2008) and the Miss Rockaway Armada (Mississippi River, 2006 and 2007). SWOON’s boats were inspired by dense urban cityscapes and thickly intertwined mangrove swamps from her Florida youth. The Swimming Cities of Serenissima were built from salvaged materials, including modified Mercedes car motors with long-tail propellers. The boats’ crew was made up of 30 collaborating artists from the United States. As the Swimming Cities moved toward Venice, the crew collected and installed keepsakes in an ark-like cabinet of wonders that was displayed on the boats when they arrived. Once in Venice, the boats and crew offered intimate performances that incorporate music, shadow puppetry, and story. The vessels were imagined as a hybrid between boats and bits of land broken off and headed out to sea.
The Swimming Cities are designed and organized by printmaker and installation artist SWOON. Collaborators include puppeteer Robin Frohart and the band Dark Dark Dark and many many more. Boat design and carpentry created in close collaboration with Jeff Stark, Iris Lasson, and with guidance from The Floating Neutrinos. Motors are designed by”Chicken” John Rinaldi.
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