Desire | 2022
Installed throughout the campus of Western Carolina University | Cullowhee, NC
Routed cedar, paint, maps designed using Adobe Illustrator and Google Maps
A desire path (also known as a desire line) is a term that has been utilized in landscape architecture and land-use planning since 1993. Desire lines are visible pathways created as a consequence of erosion caused by human or animal foot traffic in preference to or in the absence of a designated alternative (from Merriam-Webster). The artwork Desire consisted of four installations throughout the campus of Western Carolina University in which preexisting desire paths made by students naturally over time were labeled with signage invoking classic National Park Service trail markers. Each desire pathway was measured, and the correct mileage was added to its corresponding signage.
Inside the Western Carolina Art Museum on campus, maps were made available to the public showing only the installation points in reference to one another with their geo-coordinates.
