‘The Dido Project; Body as Stylus’

The Dido Project is an offshoot of an ongoing project to explore, research and interpret the historic New York City metropolitan coastline. Since 2011, every excursion is recorded with GPS tracking devices, using my own moving body as a stylus to ‘draw’ lines on the surface of this area of the planet (ie; satellite maps). Tracks are uploaded to Google Earth appearing as red lines to generate an ever expanding imaginary circumscription of the city’s current landmasses- far different from those of the precolonial era due to centuries of landfilling. The Oxhide Myth describes how the Phoenician Queen Dido acquired a great tract of land in Tunisia by deceiving the Berbers. In this real estate deal, she requested and was granted a tiny piece of land- the amount encompassed by the hide of an ox. But to the Berbers’ dismay the hide was cut into thin strips and joined together to encircle a vast hillside. In my own benign version of this legend I seek to encompass the entirety of the City- some 570 miles of coastline. Though more than 620 miles have been logged (including surrounding metropolitan areas and repeat excursions), there are many more to come in this ongoing effort that tests the limits of Public Trust Doctrine.

Satellite map of New York City and surrounding waterways, with red outlines highlighting coastal and shoreline areas
Satellite view of New York Harbor, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and surrounding waterfronts outlined in red
Aerial Google Earth view of a waterfront residential neighborhood and harbor, overlaid with dense red GPS tracking paths along the shoreline and streets
Aerial view of a large waterway with numerous abandoned shipwrecks, industrial waterfront facilities, roads, and red shoreline GPS track lines
Aerial satellite map showing islands, waterways, roads, parks, golf courses, marinas, and red GPS tack lines
Aerial view of a waterfront park, marina, breakwaters, parking lots, boats, and red GPS tracking routes overlaid on the shoreline
Aerial satellite map of a coastal bay with islands, surrounding urban neighborhoods, and red and orange shoreline and route overlays
Aerial view of an industrial waterfront with cargo ships, docks, barges, wooded shoreline, and red GPS track lines overlaid on the image
Aerial satellite map of New York Harbor, showing Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Governors Island, surrounding waterways, airports, wetlands, and red GPS track lines
Aerial satellite view of large wetlands, ponds, vegetation, roads, and industrial buildings outlined with redGPS track lines
Aerial view of a wooded coastal peninsula with beaches, surrounding water, roads, a parking lot, and red GPS track lines