Obama's Ark
(Fiction story)
In October 2013, due to bureaucratic difficulties, the United States federal government was forced to shut down for two weeks. A nation built upon a foundation of confidence has now found itself in a dark era of trepidation, with many citizens questioning their belief in the federal government. This project revisits the 1969 Moon-landing as a powerful political symbol for building national confidence and patriotism. At this crucial time, the US government is having to invent new strategies for re-asserting their national image within the global context.
Obama’s Ark is a never-ending masterplan project, set in Cape Disappointment in Washington, the foggiest place in the United States of America. Commissioned by the White House, the masterplan employs the construction of an artificial Moon as a piece of political propaganda to recapture the faith and confidence of Americans towards their federal government – the architectural placebo presents itself as an environmental disaster relief center. Through poetic image, vision and concealment, this disappointing city challenges the conventional means and ways of local and national governance.
