The SEFT-1 going en-route through Mexico’s abandoned railway documenting the sights and the people. (via Ivan Puig and Padilla Domene)
Artists Ivan Puig and Andrés Padilla Domene are making an epic journey for a very interesting cause in their homemade vehicles.
As part of an artistic project, Puig and Domene decided that they were going to document the effect that the closing of a railway between Mexico City and the Atlantic has on the surrounding communities. Many of these communities are isolated as a result of the closing because they don’t have road, rail or air alternatives.To fulfil this project, the artists needed a vehicle that could run on, between, and off the railroad tracks. So, they set about creating a part car, part rail-car, part space probe that could handle the task. They call it the Sonda de Exploración Ferroviaria Tripulada, or SEFT-1 for short.
Not only can this futuristic device runs on the road, on tracks, and between tracks, it can also take pictures, footage, and data from the surrounding area. They also use the vehicle to capture interviews from town locals. Some of this data is uploaded to their website so you can see where their vehicle has been. The footage will also be formally presented as an exhibition piece in London’s Furtherfield exhibit open to the public from the 21st of June to the 27th of July 2014.
I am personally really excited to see the footage and pictures from the project. There is something alluring about towns that time forgot that I find really exciting. I suppose it is because it is the closest, most economical, time machine. It also highlights how important transit was in shaping society. Towns without the privilege of nearby rail, roads, or airports got left behind.
However, considering the lopsided ideologies of modern society, perhaps this isn’t a horrible thing. Check out Puig’s and Domene’s exhibit to find out!
SEFT-1 Abandoned Railways Exploration Probe from The Arts Catalyst on Vimeo.
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