Document:Q10084

Traces of Fire
Barium Meals for the City
Everything starts with a pub-tour.
Couple of drinks, couple of cigarettes, off to the next bar.
Couple of drinks, couple of cigarettes.
Then - moving on.
Next day, same thing.
Couple of drinks with a couple of cigarettes in a couple of pubs.
In each of the pubs Mr.Klien and Mr.Lear leave behind a nice little lighter. And each of these lighters is equipped with a nice little transmitter and its own transmission id.
And above the roofs antennas rise.
The next week is spent roaming the urban habitat, tracking the lighters, tracing the fire; logging its every move.

Invited by the art exhibition ev+a 2004, Volkmar Klien and Ed Lear embarked on the last great adventure in wildlife biotelemetry: Urban Habitat Research.
In local Limerick pubs the artists leave 10 lighters equipped with transmitters. With the help of special receivers and antennas they trace the movement of these lighters over the next week. The resulting position and relocation data provides the base for a collage of images collected on their tracking tours through the city, reflecting the movement patterns & habits of those who adopted the lighters.