Unidentified Drawing Object (UDO)

This project sought to engage the citizens of Bergen, Norway, inviting them to become active participants in playful games during the Hardbakka Ruins Project: The Commons group exhibition. UDO drew a trail of sawdust and clay powder wherever it went, meaning that everyone was encouraged to leave his or her mark on Bergen. Rather than being a conventional exhibition in a white room populated with pristine art, The Commons exhibition sought to bring the art out into the streets of the Mlenpris neighborhood and engage the public through whimsical interventions. All of the works produced for the exhibition were made from found and discarded materials in Bergen.

The form of UDO's shell was inspired by the concrete barriers scattered around Mlenpris, while its handle drew inspiration from the many sailboats lining the water's edge. UDO invited people to hop on it, ride it, do donuts, and observe the spatial residue of its journeys. During the course of the exhibition, people rode UDO to get to the various art pieces dispersed throughout the neighborhood. The traces that were left behind by UDO acted as ephemeral way-finding, tying together the collective projects of the exhibition, and leading people towards their locations.