A Pipeline Under the Ocean

Every now and again I hear a story that makes me stop in my tracks, reverse and read again. Today was one of those days. This morning I was reading through a bunch of news reports on the web and stumbled across something that was just brilliant.

An British conceptual artist has built something that he calls a “telectroscope”, which put quite simply is a tunnel under the ocean connecting New York to London. At either end is a large portal where you can look through the tunnel and by using a series of mirrors you can see all the way across the Atlantic to the other side. The distance is far too great for audio to travel, but you can communicate with signs, waves and via mobile phone. The design of the portal reflects its aged origins, ornate, intricate and overbuilt. First conceived over 100 years ago – and with construction started shortly after, it has been the artist’s life work to bring the Verne’ian concept into reality. And luckily for the next few weeks people can go down to these locations an ocean apart and communicate under the ocean – using the technology of old...

Hold on a second. 100 year old tunnels? Mirrors? Portals? What the fuck? Ok, so there isn’t really a tunnel – and despite the fact that the artist won’t publicly admit it, the two ends are connected with a broadband connection and HD cameras. So it’s a fake – but what a glorious fake it is. This is where art and travel meet. Both are about communication, connection and a pinch of wonder thrown in the mix. Ordinary people are going down to the portal and making a connection with complete strangers from the other side of the world. They’re enchanted by the idea of the fantastic and sharing in something that brings us closer together. At its essence that is exactly what travel is – it’s a portal that brings us all closer together. Who cares about technology, it’s that face to face contact that reminds us that we are all connected by a pipeline that runs under the ocean.



http://www.tiscali.co.uk/telectroscope/home.php

Cheers,
Scott