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850 POINTS
Film (19:40) and interactive online map
Supported by the Rabbit Island Foundation, Calumet, MI, USA, 2023-25
850 Points is a spatial archive of Rabbit Island, a protected landmass in Lake Superior. Over three weeks, the island was crossed on foot, with 460 locations recorded by walking, pausing, and taking notes. Each point documents encounters with trees, shrubs, and ground plants, forming an intimate record of the island’s vegetation. The project approaches the ecosystem through embodied observation, shaped by movement and perception, while remaining in dialogue with technologies such as remote sensing and machine learning, which offer more quantitative ways of reading the landscape. Together, these approaches were used to synthesize vegetation zones across the island, defined by recurring combinations of plant species. The result is both a record and a reflection, asking what it means to observe, care for, and preserve a place that is protected yet constantly changing. The work unfolds as an interactive web map alongside a short film that combines field documentation with a video essay on preservation, conservation, and the act of witnessing a living landscape.