Over the course of two years, I formed a friendship with the man who lived in the parking lot behind my apartment. The process he described of contending with the elements and confronting life in brave ways prompted me to fantasize a grand metaphor between him and that of an astronaut. With his permission, I requested to interview him and create depictions inspired by his conversation about stepping outside of society.

 

This animation and the accompanying prints are intended to be interpreted as a poetic comparison, rather than a sequential narrative. The aerospace frontier thus becomes a vehicle to critique social injustice and the imbalance between who is elevated in society. The shimmery plastic of his tented shelters appeared not unlike the gold foil on moon roving vehicles. The nomadic understanding that everything you need is carried on your back is embodied in both backpack and Primary Life Support Subsystem. All of the progressiveness of satellite technology dissipates into the gridded and paneled forms seen also in shopping carts. The exposed fingertips of his gloves became the finger caps of astronaut gloves. The bulky and make-shift aesthetic of the two archetypes’ clothing attested to the need for survival. This piece became a conduit for conversing with him about perspectives previously unknown to me.