Arcadia was filmed at the "Millennium Force” in Ohio, USA – the world’s tallest and fastest roller coaster.  People in the coaster cars are shown anticipating the ride during the slow ascent as they have pulled up a track, then bracing themselves as they drop 300 feet at over 90 miles per hour down the coaster’s 80 degree incline.

The installation consists of two monolithic steel towers each housing three video monitors arranged as “windows” in a vertical pattern. One set of screens frames sequential views of the ride’s ascent, while the opposing set shows the free-fall portion of the ride captured in extreme slow motion.

The “climax” of the rollercoaster ride takes place somewhere between the two opposing structural and visual states of the installation.  The riders’ body language and emotions are of the moments immediately before and after the ride reaches its unseen apex.

The physical proximity of the towers offers only a narrow "field of view" from which to observe. We are unable to physically occupy the sweet spot from which to best absorb the excitement and hysteria generated by the ride.

Collection

Guggenheim Museum collection
New York, New York

Selected Press

The New York Times
Art in Review: Massless Medium