Vivaria is an examination of a place, Washington DC, and of interpretation. The city itself exists within a penumbra. From the apex of authority and security within the White House, influence fades quickly to the untenable neighborhoods which surround it. As shading defines form for a viewer, a potential range of interpretation can define audience. Everyone perceives a relationship between themselves and Washington, 3 perception with a spectrum from control to disenfranchisement that can alter radically after an election. A chief pursuit of the government has always been the interpretation of documents and symbols, the explanation of their meaning and the construction of supporting narrative.

I began this project in 2000. After the turning point in 2001, those in charge of securing the White House and it's environment have continually experimented with the landscape. Barriers and restricted areas have shifted like dunes as the areas around the White House have been secured. It seems to be an evolutionary process, while some features remain constant, others come and go as dictated by unknown motivations.

Outside of DC, phrases like "climbing Capitol Hill" seem only metaphors, until one makes the walk up the rise themselves. Washington is very much a material, social and psychic landscape. Most fortresses exist entirely to separate inside from outside, while our seat of government necessitates varying levels of access. Washington is a working fortress as well as one of the nations largest tourist destinations. Continually vigilant and continuously being watched.