The word "fathom" has an unusually poetic history. Originally the word meant "to understand" in a sense that was combined with the bodily idea of grasping or getting one's arms around something. Eventually the term came to be used for the literal measurement across a human arm span, standardized to roughly six feet. Today we most commonly hear this measurement to refer to a depth of water.
This etymological relationship between mind, body, and sublimely-large outer world was the starting point for a six foot diameter model of the Earth in the speculated future continental configuration called "Pangea Ultima". Just as Pangea exists in the popular mind as the primordial, Eden-like whole from which the current continental formations split - Pangea Ultima represents the post-apocalyptic utopian future towards which we head. The formalized recreation of events like "Burning Man" and films like "Mad Max" represent forms of this fantasy. Is it a coincidence that Pangea is dated at 250 million years in the past while Pangea Ultima is dated at 250 million years in the future?
This installation was featured at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and College of Art + Design - special thanks to Andy Grundberg, Stephen Crouch, Tim Anderson, Camille Schefter and Reid Westlund.