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iota upriver


iota upriver is an anagram of river utopia. This body of work is an exploration of what can be extrapolated from two sites: the Pittsburgh Mills Mall and the sparsely inhabited town of Utopia, OH. The existence of both sites is owed to the (flawed) notion that utopias can be achieved, established, and maintained. One is a mostly vacant mall completed and opened in 2005; located in Tarentum, PA; and the latter is the site of an ill-fated utopian settlement dating back to the 1820s. These two sites are hours away from each other, connected by their location along the same major North American river. This waterway has and will outlive these notions of utopia. Artifacts, information, and recordings are used to extract information and create new material realities - river utopia is an anagram of iota upriver (something small that you are downstream from…).




Detail, Green Wall



detail, Directory II



detail, Zipties 


List of works:

  1. Vital Signs (3D printed lithophane, sound sensor, EL Wire, extension cord, light bulb, flex paste, packing tape, cardboard, DAP glue)1
  2. Meat poster, animated (frame animation)1
  3. Meat poster, outlined (laser cut plexiglass)1
  4. Plastic from Utopia I (plastic fragment found on ground in Utopia, OH)2
  5. Plastic from Utopia II (3D printed marble PLA filament)2
  6. Plastic from Utopia III (3D printed marble PLA filament)2
  7. Legend (laser cut natural clay from Ohio River Watershed)
  8. Directory I (laser cut natural clay from Ohio River Watershed)
  9. Directory II (laser cut natural clay from Ohio River Watershed)
  10. Directory III (laser cut natural clay from Ohio River Watershed)
  11. Zip ties (used zip ties found on ground at Pittsburgh Mills Mall)
  12. Blueprints for something new (auto-generated blueprints using Polycam)
  13. Pothole (alginate mold, grass, gravel)
  14. Pothole from Utopia (laser cut masonite board, Plexiglass)
  15. Pothole from Utopia II (laser cut masonite board, Plexiglass)
  16. Pothole from Utopia III (laser cut masonite board, paint, Plexiglass)
  17. Green wall (wall paint)3
  18. Untethered (low-res) (deflated playball, plaster, acrylic craft paint)3
  19. POS / Take a break from Reality (zero player game)3
  20. Massaged slabs (3D printed PLA, plexiglass, flexseal)4
  21. Advertisement (canvas, acrylic paint, vinyl paint)4
  22. Massaged Chair (3D Printed PLA Filament)4
  23. Massaged Chair supports, enlarged (3D printed scan of supports)4
  24. Ohio River II pt. 9 (Tarentum, Utopia) (video projection)5
  25. Aerial view (Sentinel-2 satellite imagery of Pittsburgh Mills Mall on the anniversary of its opening day (July 14, 2005))
  26. The sound from Utopia (sound recording)
  27. River (extension cord, painter’s tape)
  28. Harbor6
  29. Portal6


c alyssa b keil
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