2016
Department of Public Play (DPP) is a fictional government entity dedicated to subverting utilitarian elements of the urban landscape by developing installations that bridge infrastructure and sculpture. DPP develops projects that are open-ended and subject to interpretation, reexamining the signs explicit in everyday spaces and the comportment which they engender.
DPP #001, begins with the arc of a prototypical bike rack and extends and stretches the steel tube through a series of rotations and reversals. The resulting bars and loops orient to the body at different heights and configurations, creating a series of conditions for improvised play.
The project, part bike rack part play structure, was built with the help of students from John O’Connell High School, who through the construction process worked in a metal shop, learning how to weld, make jigs, and to fabricate with steel.