Custo 2 Travelogue
In December I was awarded a grant from Rhizome to build another kiosk of my Custo project. The kiosk allows people to immortalize an object by posting a photo and stories on the decentralized social network Scuttlebutt. You make a drawing on the touchscreen that gets printed out as either a sticker or nylon ribbon (like the tag in a shirt). Affix this tag to the item and people in the future can read about the history of the item and document their own history via the QR code. There's a lot more info on the project website
the kiosk keyboard I got from my friend Tim
This grant was perfectly timed with an invitation from my friend A [sic] to bring the kiosk to Vancouver to stoke the arts and tech scene. And this visit also aligned with an invite, via A, to present the kiosk as part of the University of British Columbia's Slow Fashion Season starting at the end of January.
So I got to work.
The timing of this grant was also challenging as I was in the middle of my yearly winter migration to the San Francisco Bay Area. It was Christmas and New Years which made it difficult to acquire parts and I was shuffling between 7 different sublets and friends houses as often as every few days.
working with Luke on the enclosure. Wheels and handle are from a wheely backpack donated by Leslie
Thankfully those friends and family are exceptionally supportive of this project. God bless Leslie who let me have probably 15 different packages delivered to her house including a weird little phone.
When it turned out the printers didn't come with the necessary uptake reels and I had no time to procure them, my cousin Bill helped me construct substitutes out of dowels.
hand spooling from overnighted 1.5" satin nylon wash care label stock
I fought with those printers all weekend before realizing one of them didn't work. It was 2 days before debut. So I borrowed Luke's stick-shift Volvo and drove over to Rica Recycling in Hayward for a replacement.
less fortunate printers at Rica plus requisite In-N-Out pitstop
Despite numerous last minute kinks, the kiosk made a successful debut at TIAT (The Intersection of Art and Technology) in San Francisco.
debut was so fun ty friends for coming out. Candle is for preventing the nylon tags from fraying and for setting a peaceful vibe. Meme from https://www.are.na/block/33631573
The next day I packed up the kiosk and departed on a train bound for Portland Oregon.
some have noted the kiosk's bonhomie creatureness
Finally, the next day, I arrived in Vancouver. On my first day there I presented at a visible mending workshop at UBC and on my last night at a plushie-making workshop at Z Space. In the intervening days A and I attended various sights and events around Vancouver. We bonded over art and technology, scenes and memes. We drafted and signed a little artwork agreement and he assumed stewardship of the kiosk.
I picked up a shirt from the free store, tagged it, and gave it to Ali
And then I left on a train bound for Seattle.
The kiosk will be on display at AHVA gallery in Vancouver from February 25th to March 20th. I'll do a remote lecture at some point during that time. And then the kiosk will make various appearances in Vancouver for a year or so.
The first kiosk is accessible at weekly Swapluck at the Free Sha Voca Do free store in Burlington, Vermont. The project website www.cust.ooo has been updated to allow scanning Custo tags right on the site.
Working on this project feels like I'm exercising a sweet little piece of my life's purpose. I'm self actualizing when I put energy into Custo. This trip rocked.
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