THE FUTURES CYCLE

The Futures Cycle (2010-2012) is about imagining potential near-future narratives for abandoned buildings throughout the Rust Belt region of the United States. In 2009, Christensen traveled extensively around the Rust Belt region of the United States, photographing its roads, buildings, and infrastructure. This region of the country is in major transition, as the industry that was once prominent is now waning. While documenting these sites, Christensen imagined radical potential uses for these spaces, and developed possible future narratives for these buildings. The project was first exhibited as a series of photographs + captions at SPACES Gallery in Cleveland, OH as a part of the show, “…in a most dangerous manner,” curated by Steven Lam and Sarah Ross. Christensen was later commissioned by the city of Arlington, VA, in conjunction with Artisphere, to translate The Futures Cycle into a public installation for a city bus. She designed bus placards using the photographs and captions of the potential future uses for the buildings, which were installed in the slots that usually host advertisements on the bus. Each placard displayed a QR code that led to a website about the project. This bus ran as a part of the city bus route from August to December, 2012.