Great Divide Route Landscape Sculptures Illustrate Voting Power

‘Power Absorbent Landscapes’ is a series of six sculptural landscape models produced as part of the independent art, architecture, & research project ON THE GREAT DIVIDE. Cut from three different regions of Wyoming, each model contains a section of The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route which designer Myles Peña will be riding late this summer.

The A-series of models (above left) represents the landscape to a true scale. The B-Series (above right) exaggerates the topography to highlight the disproportionate voting power found in Wyoming. By allowing the landscape to absorb the high vote worth results in an exaggerated elevation model. According to the artist, ’Power Absorbent Landscapes’ helps visualize the abstract concept of voting power and becomes a reflection of the peaks and valleys of a divided nation. And yet, the series can also be appreciated simply for the power held by visually stunning landscapes that appear to be cut out of the earth.

This project looks to leverage the potential of bikepacking as a research method to survey the relationships between landscape, people, places, and ideology as we face one of the deepest cultural divides in our history. For more on Myles’ project, to help fund his further research and trip, and to get a landscape model for your coffee table, visit the Kickstarter page. Also, check out his site onthegreatdivide.com. Proceeds help fund the materials and tools to tell this story through photography, cartography, drawings, and sculpture.

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