WORKS
NEWS
FACTS
TEXTS
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Jacek
Smolicki

On-Going Project (2008-)

'Here we have a man whose job it is to gather the day's refuse in the capital. Everything that the big city has thrown away, everything it has lost, everything it has scorned, everything it has crushed underfoot he catalogues and collects. He collates the annals of intemperance, the capharnaum of waste. He sorts things out and selects judiciously: he collects like a miser guarding a treasure, refuse which will assume the shape of useful or gratifying objects between the jaws of the goddess of Industry.'

Walter Benjamin, Arcades Project


Echoing some of Benjamin's aspirations to radically rethink the language and techniques through which we speak about, document, and archive our times, the On-Going Project aims to compose a subjective, mixed-media para-archive of diverse facets and rhythms characterizing contemporary everyday life. Utilizing portable and affordable recording technologies of today, since 2008, I have been committed to about a dozen of practices resulting in a systematic documentation of, for example, excerpts of everyday soundscapes, fragments of daily news, visualizations of GPS data from daily walks, and portraits of technologized individuals taken in public transportation.

A small portion of the regularly composed archive is available under on-going.net, and a full list of practices is below and in the right column.


Streetsampling is a collection of ephemeral soundscapes created by buskers performing in public spaces. A one minute recording is taken each time when coming across a street musician in public space. The practice was initiated in July 2010 in Haifa, Israel.

Misquoting consists of collages made out of headlines and images extracted from locally distributed, free newspapers. Approximately one collage is made every week. The practice began in April 2011 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Minuting comprises sounds of public spaces. At least one minute of a soundscape that draws or disrupts my attention is recorded on a daily basis. The practice started in July 2010 in Jerusalem, Israel / Palestine

Selftracking is a record of physical movements in public spaces. An invisible crack made while walking is recorded by a wearable GPS device, processed and visualized into a simple graphical trace of a single day. Started in August 2010 in Stockholm.

Traversing consists of photographs of randomly found objects while walking in the public space. Every week results in a documentation of seven discarded, yet potentially reusable objects. Started in November 2009 in Stockholm.

Soundtracking is a collection of sound recordings of specific locations, elements of urban infrastructure and micro-phenomena spotted and made on-the-go. The practice started in May 2008 in Stockholm.

Interpreting is a record of thought-provoking assemblages of various material components of public spaces. A 10 sec. video is taken whenever my attention is triggered by an evocative interplay of the elements of public realm. Started in October 2009 in Krakow.

Acquainting is a collection of discarded business cards found and picked up in public spaces. It is a record of visual and corporate identities of contemporary society accidentally dropped while in a rush. Started in December 2010 in Stockholm

Passing is a record of transient locations passed while traveling between distant places. Each time when taking a long distance transport, such as train or bus, a portion of the landscape as seen from my seat is video recorded. Started in October 2011 in Gdynia.

Facing comprises portraits of strangers hand drawn while on a train, bus or other means of public transportation. The subjects are typically drawn to their mobile phones or other electronic devices. Project initiated in July 2012 in Stockholm.

Scribbling consists of several practices of commenting on reality and contemporaneity through spontaneous, unbound and unedited writing.

Mapping is an archive of collages comprising scraps and fragments of discarded maps and cartographic representations found in public spaces. Scraps from a single month result in a production of one collage. The practice started in 2011.




0006

Streetsampling is a collection of ephemeral soundscapes created by buskers performing in public spaces. A one minute recording is taken each time when coming across a street musician in public space. The practice was initiated in July 2010 in Haifa, Israel.


Misquoting consists of collages made out of headlines and images extracted from locally distributed, free newspapers. Approximately one collage is made every week. The practice began in April 2011 in Stockholm, Sweden.


0003

Minuting comprises sounds of public spaces. At least one minute of a soundscape that draws or disrupts my attention is recorded on a daily basis. The practice started in July 2010 in Jerusalem, Israel / Palestine


25.04.2011

Selftracking is a record of physical movements in public spaces. An invisible crack made while walking is recorded by a wearable GPS device, processed and visualized into a simple graphical trace of a single day. Started in August 2010 in Stockholm.


0969

Traversing consists of photographs of randomly found objects while walking in the public space. Every week results in a documentation of seven discarded, yet potentially reusable objects. Started in November 2009 in Stockholm.


0023

Soundtracking is a collection of sound recordings of specific locations, elements of urban infrastructure and micro-phenomena spotted and made on-the-go. The practice started in May 2008 in Stockholm.


0102

Interpreting is a record of thought-provoking assemblages of various material components of public spaces. A 10 sec. video is taken whenever my attention is triggered by an evocative interplay of the elements of public realm. Started in October 2009 in Krakow.


Acquainting is a collection of discarded business cards found and picked up in public spaces. It is a record of visual and corporate identities of contemporary society accidentally dropped while in a rush. Started in December 2010 in Stockholm


0015

Passing is a record of transient locations passed while traveling between distant places. Each time when taking a long distance transport, such as train or bus, a portion of the landscape as seen from my seat is video recorded. Started in October 2011 in Gdynia.


0032

Facing comprises portraits of strangers hand drawn while on a train, bus or other means of public transportation. The subjects are typically drawn to their mobile phones or other electronic devices. Project initiated in July 2012 in Stockholm.


Scribbling consists of several practices of commenting on reality and contemporaneity through spontaneous, unbound and unedited writing.


0032

Mapping is an archive of collages comprising scraps and fragments of discarded maps and cartographic representations found in public spaces. Scraps from a single month result in a production of one collage. The practice started in 2011.