DANDELION

Interactive sculpture made in the context of the Per-Former-Ceiver exhibition from the master program Sound Studies and Sonic Arts.
Zukunft am Ostkreuz - Berlin - July 2022.

Dandelion is a length of train rail, hanging vertically, microphoned. It can be interacted with by swinging it, hitting it, scratching it, using it like a bell.
The point is to transpose a common and abundant - but seldomly interacted with - object into an uncommon position to be touched, seen and heard. It arises from the question of how to make heaviness float, and from the urge of tactile interaction with monolithic objects that one might have.

I went for the Rail. For the place where there is a bunch of rails left close to a secluded stretch of railroad. The first time I was there I thought it was abandoned and uncared for. This time - after I struggled greatly to move the piece of Rail that is 2,20m long and probably weighs north of 150 kilos from the pile of rails on which it layed - a worker came in a van. He stopped the van and said nothing, just pointed at the Rail that was now resting on two Bauhaus trolleys, tied with coloured ratchet straps, and gave a look that said “what the fuck?”. In my lousy German I said I was going to record the sound of the rail, that I was going to use it for recordings and would not take it away from the place. He said nothing and drove away. Another car came, a civilian car and not a construction company van like the previous one, the car parked and out of it came an older man wearing shorts and sandals, looking all read from the heat. He came to me and said some stuff I didn’t understand and did not concern the Rail.
I kept on moving the Rail. After I moved it some more meters the first worker drove back and parked next to the old man’s car. He said nothing to me but took a picture with his phone of me pulling the Rail and then proceeded to call someone. At that point I waited and decided to better secure the Rail to the trolleys. I sat and waited to see what would develop.
Shortly after, a third car came; a Skoda, sound blasting. This guy parked very close to me, right in front of my way on the street, as if to block me from pushing the Rail any further. He took a while to turn off the radio and fiddle with stuff inside the car before he turned it off. He stepped out and was also dressed in very informal summer clothes. I thought he was maybe “the boss” that the other guy called to say I was doing some shenanigans in the place; but he just asked me what was doing with the Rail. Again in my crappy German I said I was going to record the sound because I’m a sound artist. He laughed. He screamed across the street to the first worker and laughed even more; then he went back to the Skoda shaking his head and laughing in a “that’s some silly shit” type of attitude. I was relieved.
He drove off and parked next to the first worker’s van and the red old man’s car. I then wheeled the Rail even further up this only road between a lake and a railroad. I guess it’s a private road of some sort, but you can just walk in there.
After I struggled to wheel the rail for 30 meters or so, I stopped, drenched in sweat as another marked van passed down the road. This worker looked at me and just drove by slowly, saying nothing. After a few more meters of wheeling the Rail and a big full-size Sprinter came with two guys in.
The first time I was at this place there was absolutely no one, the day that I decide to move a rail to try some things, there is a whole team of workers showing up to do whatever. And it was a 30ºc Saturday.
The two guys in the big Sprinter stopped and asked what’s up; I gave the same answer as before. They nodded and drove away. At this point I’m thinking that as none of the workers stopped me, this must be ok to do.
Moving this Rail is no joke, even on wheels it was a gruelling endeavour and I was taking it a couple of meters at a time. Then, the worker in the marked van that drove by slowly and said nothing was driving back on the road and stopped to talk to me. He said that the Rail is official city property and you cannot take it. I said I was only going to record its sound close by in a more silent place but still in the area. He said “du hast ein sehr großes Problem”. I stood silent for a bit and said that I was just moving it, not taking it. He said something that I didn’t understand so I said my German was not so good. He switched to English: “you have a very big problem. I didn’t see anything, I’m just warning you. Some other people may think different. I saw nothing and I’m leaving, but I’m warning. Look around, keep your eyes open, police come they..” and he did the gesture of hands being cuffed. This guy was a friend. I thanked him. 
I immediately untied the Rail from the trolleys, flipped it on the grass on the side of the road, grabbed my stuff and walked away.

I thought “that’s it, not worth it getting arrested. The first worker probably called the cops and this other guy being a good heart came to give me the heads up”. I walked up to the gate of this private road, which was after a curve and apparently always left open. Outside this gate to the right are the offices for the “DB Cargo” and the parking lot of the office building. I walked to this parking lot as the other side of it has a beautiful view to some railroad tracks with old locomotives and train cars and a site that resembled a quarry in the back. Absolutely exhausted, defeated and thirsty I decided to sit at this place for a moment and think of my next moves. This parking lot is not visible from the street or the private road where the Rail was, there is a large patch of woods protecting it so I could sit there without anyone seeing me.

I sat for a while, regrouped my gear as I thought about what to do. After some time I thought of walking the nearby tracks to see if some other piece of rail could be laying around. I walked close to the locomotives and the smell of diesel engines immediately brought me back childhood memories of being around tractors. Quickly a saw a worker on the other side close to the quarry- looking place so I moved back to the parking lot.

I felt that I at least had to try the stepped-bit I had to drill a hole on the rail. Somehow the possibility of getting in trouble with the police was not enough to make me give up and leave, which I thought of doing and even checked the way out of there on my phone. As I was walking back to the private road I saw to my left an opening in the woods which led to a clearing around some sort of metal lid on the ground. I walked into this clearing looking for a possible place to hang the Rail from and try it’s sound - I hadn’t given up on this test yet. Then I heard a car coming from the private road and made myself hidden in this clearing; it was the red old man, then after him the big Sprinter with the two men, then another worker. They were all leaving. It was close to 21:00 so their shift was probably over. I thought of that as an opportunity. I had sat around for a long time thinking that the police would come because someone called them, but no police showed up and now all the workers left.
I then walked back to where I had dropped the rail, it wasn’t so far from the clearing in the woods. If I could just get it there I could hide it and maybe even try what I needed to try. I tested the drill bit and it started to drill the Rail. Good. Then I decided to take the risk and get the Rail to the clearing, I was very close and couldn’t give up yet. I tied the Rail back on the trolleys and made a run for it, wheeling it as fast as I could; the plastic wheels of the Bauhaus dogs rattling insanely on the ragged service road, me sweating profusely. All the time I’m envisioning a police car turning the curve and seeing me doing this extremely illegal thing. I just push through.
I make it to the curve, look down the street that continues from the private road and there is no one, so I keep on and in one sprint I get the Rail in the opening of the clearing. There is a small ditch of dirt, I leave all my things in the clearing and prepare for the ridiculous force necessary to move this Rail over the ditch; then I do it in one push and get the Rail in the clearing, on top of the lid on the ground.
The Rail and I are in the clearing in the woods, it’s a partially hidden place and I start to prepare for hoisting the Rail on a tree. I just need a few centimetres to test how it sounds. I spend some time trying to drill it again but it seems that the stepped bit is no longer effective, so I give up and decide to hoist it using the ratchet straps alone. I manage to throw the biggest ratchet strap over a tree branch.
All my things are scattered; drill, drill bits, tube of oil, gloves, ratchet straps, backpack and the bag with extra drill battery.
As I’m managing the straps to take the trolleys from under the rail, I see, to my right, through the opening the leads to the clearing, a police van on the street one block away, making a left turn to head to the private road. From where I stand I can see the officer driving; they are coming directly to where I am. I almost jump in the woods head first, but I just move a bit into a more hidden place and hope for the best; I’m sure that I’m about to be seriously fucked as I expect the moment of talking to the cops catching me absolutely red-handed. They obviously saw me, I had a bright-orange thick ratchet strap hanging from a tree, and I’m probably the reason they’re coming. I calm myself down as they drive closer to the private road; they don’t slow down to turn to the opening in the woods, they just drive straight into the private road and keep on driving. They pass me. They did not see me. Sweet Jesus.
In five seconds I pull the ratchet strap from the tree, do my best to hide the bright-coloured rigging stuff, get my backpack and walk away, leaving all the rest behind. I run to the back of the DB office building as no car from any street could see me there; I wait there for a couple of minutes.

The scenario in my head is intense: the first worker called the cops and stayed behind waiting for them to show up, now he was talking to the cops and showing them the picture he took of me. Soon enough the cops will be scouting the area, they now have my description, not so much time before the German Shepards get brought in to smell my sweat that dripped all over that goddamn road. The helicopters will be deployed within the hour.
I starting moving away as if I’m just taking a Saturday stroll on a very isolated, industrial area; I’m expecting the cops to find the clearing and all my things around the Rail shortly so I think back if there’s anything that can identify me in all that stuff. And then it hits me that both Bauhaus trolleys have the name of my Hauptmieter and my address written under them in red magic marker. Fucking shit.
I can’t leave these trolleys to be found and have Adrian be prosecuted with the full force of the German law; I can’t have anyone take the fall for me, goddamn it. So I start making my way back to the clearing as I still see no sign of the police and that private road is really short. I hide from building to building back to the back of the DB building and wait just one more minute, everything is really silent; so I make a run for the clearing knowing that I can hide in the woods if needed. I reach the clearing and gather everything as fast as I can, throw everything in the yellow bag, turn the Rail over, take both trolleys and bail out of there as quickly as I can.

I made it out with everything, now is just a matter of getting myself away from the Rail calmly. As I’m walking this street where the police car came from, which I have no idea where it leads to, I see the police van coming back, turning towards where I’m walking, moving back to where it came from. “There we go” I think; at least now I’m not near the Rail but I’m sure they have my description and the photo that the worker took; I prepare myself to do some serious bullshitting to the German police.

They just drive by me; not even slowing down or looking at me. I’m in the clear. I immediately relax and feel exhausted. I feel relief that the police was not on me, and frustrated that I didn’t manage to test what I wanted. I’m beat, and I’m really far away from home or some U-bahn that would get me home, it’s 22:00 in the night, I’m hungry and thirsty. I make my way through the woods surrounding the lake nearby to head back to civilisation. I get beers and Doner; I see a van speeding by, it’s back door opens up and some water crates fall on the avenue; some kids run to get whatever didn’t break. I manage to get back home at 1:00 in the morning. The Rail is hidden in the clearing.

SHORTWAVE FUGUE

DANDELION

HOUSES