Lunar Land Ordinance
36 plots of lunar land
60 x 60 km
2014
Lunar Land Ordinance is a documentation of surveyed lunar land divided into 36 equal sections, as determined by the Jeffersonian Grid, which debuted via the Land Ordinance of 1785, and to this day, from coast to coast, still continues to criss-cross the wild ebbs and flows of the American landscape into theoretically perfect right angles. On March 1, 2014, our plots of lunar land hit the market at a mere $5 per 100 square km. The land sold like hotcakes, and the rest is history, resulting in the legendary Lunar Land Grab.
This series is part of a larger body of work titled Go West and Conquer All Above You, which addresses the romanticism surrounding exploration. It specifically considers the efforts of contemporary space programs in relation to the mindset and attitude of American pioneers of the Westward Expansion. The work was made with the hope of illuminating how an overzealous romance towards wilderness can ultimately lead to the negation of the wildness that was initially attractive. The work was made with the intention of cultivating a future that more thoughtfully heeds lessons from the past.
Made in collaboration with Lee Cody.