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2D ARTIFACT: ITERATION 1

A taxonomized collection of images from around the border of Crimea. A — Land at the Horizon

B — Liminal Horizons

C — Bodies in Space, on Land

D — Liminal Bodies

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SEGMENT-01

At a picturesque boardwalk I caught a mysterious artifact. I had just calibrated my equipment... I can't imagine what caused this error, but I do appreciate unpredictability. There's something about this image that holds such an interesting quality...

Further down by the shoreline, I caught a similar distortion on the horizon, visible in few more captures throughout the day... what could this be? I should get my equipment checked. It's an eerie sight to see the ever-stable meeting point between the sky and sea so unnaturally disrupted...

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SEGMENT-00 DEPARTURE

Our point of departure, the Southern coast of Kerch at the base of the Crimean Bridge. From here we continue North-East.

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ENTRY NO.8 Upon telling my friend about these recent fascinations of mine, they proposed an idea that I had to instantly write about — "why sit still, speculate and study the border of this region when we can actually see it for ourselves?" It's too perfect; a week spent travelling around and documenting the border of the Crimean Peninsula. Rather than head back to Simferopol the same way I left (in-land), we arranged an elaborate journey around the East, North, West, and South-West periphery to take me back to the West. Starting from where we are in Kerch, we will travel North-East from the Crimean Bridge, around the bend until we reach the Sea of Azov. From there we will continue West, pass by the Bay of Arabat, and strife North up the thin strip of land leading to Solyane, and eventually, the North-East Ukrainian border. From there we will stop a little bit in Ukraine, where some friends arranged to boat us back to the Peninsula. We will continue travelling West around the periphery until we reach the Perekops'ka Gulf. From there we begin the descent South-West, around the coast of the Karkinyts'ka Gulf until Olenivka and the Chorne Sea; we will continue South around the crescent until Sevastopol, South-East until Foros and the Black Sea, at which point we will encroach the South border very briefly before heading North-East, in-land, concluding my adventure and returning back to Simferopol.

We leave early tomorrow morning; and fret not, I will be updating this blog all along the way.

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CHARETTE: Preliminary Artifacts

ENTRY NO.7 My friend, upon finding my blog, insisted that I make my observations into something physical for them. But what do I have, other than simple inarticulate words!? Regardless, I did not want to disappoint them; I used some of their spare prints of compass lines and simple political maps, and overprinted an excerpt from entry no.6. As much as I know I'll look back at this measly attempt with indignation, as I usually do with my early drafts, I do love working spontaneously and trying things out on a whim. Regardless, this gives me something to think about as I continue researching, and eventually, making...

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ENTRY NO.6 Last night I drove from Simferpol International Airport to the East coast city Kerich; I'll be staying here with a friend of mine until I am to return back to Simferpol to begin my work. The two of us spent the evening catching up by the sea side. Looking into the dark, eternal horizon, it struck me then, that this small country in the Black Sea was in a precarious situation. If not for the small bridge of land connecting it to the southern flank of Ukraine, it would not know where it was relative to the rest of the world. Surrounded by water, there is nothing distinguishable that defines its positioning. Perhaps, before meeting the north connection, they had no idea where they were, only that they were surrounded by water? How curious! After all, the external border of the country does not really give you any information; the only thing that would help you is knowing what other countries which surround you.

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RESEARCH: Simplified Political Map of The Crimean Peninsula

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ENTRY NO.4 My recent fixation on this word umstroke has made me deeply curious about borders, in general, in a way that I had never been before. For a long time I have acknowledged the political power cartography provided to Imperial states; it was (and still is) a visual tool of domination, conquest and expansion. I believe it imperative that every information designer and cartographer is VERY aware of the significance of their practice and the historical, political implications necessary to consider with each assignment. But anyways, this is all to say, despite my extensive "pragmatic" education, I've never considered this concept of drawing borders from a theoretical perspective. What truly is a border? What does it mean to create something out of... nothing; to define the indefinable? Space in actuality is boundless, and borders have less to do with the topography of the space itself (the geography,) than they do with the political and cultural organization of a given area. But what then remains of the space that has now been severed and spliced, despite remaining physically... unchanged? As you can see from my lack of articulated thought, I have yet to read into this... but it has fully captured my curiosity! Before I dedicate myself to my work assignment, which is beginning next week, I want to devote myself to a body of research around umstroke, around the theoretical considerations of spatial borders.

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ENTRY NO.3 Anyways, what I mean to write about is less my endearment to this country, but specifically, about a recent rabbit-hole I fell into while reviewing the archived material. I kept coming across this word in 17th century accounts that I hadn't seen before; umstroke. According to the EC* Library, it is an archaic word for a boundary line, especially one at the outermost limit; an extreme edge. It was also (though now, outdated,) used to refer to the periphery of a circle.

*European Commission Library

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ENTRY NO.2 To my greatest delight, I've been flown out to my favourite destination for my next assignment; Crimea. Working with GISCO* gives one such benefits as paid travel. I've heard the European Commission has recently been looking to consolidate their archived material of Eastern Europe, alongside the standard, procedural updating of geo-spatial information, hence, my current assignment. Given my recent dedication, I've been designated the data-processing of national administrative boundaries (archived and present). While the workload is daunting, I'm incredibly excited. Of the many places I've visited — inside the EU for work, and outside, for research and leisure — The Crimean Peninsula is most preferable, alongside, likely, Spain and Turkie.

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ENTRY NO.1

I will not exhaust you with a lengthy introduction of myself or my motivations, for I have too much on my mind! For very long now I have needed a place to record my observations and curiosities. I will use these entries to document my fascinations, which have recently spurred around a subject that came up in my work.

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