2020-a year of paradox, the quest for connection has culminated in a year of shattered expectations and mass isolation, serving to remind us of our collective obligations. Memories of the past and future longing bracket our perception of the present, as a condition of inheritance. Commemorative relics, such as monuments, serve to distill and remind of an event or lesson learned at some point in time. Yet their permanence erroneously assigns responsibility for the present to the past, and in turn suppresses our sense of shared agency.
NoMo, the nomadic monument, resists singularity and stagnation by being tethered to place only by time. Born from a blimp and a weather balloon, NoMo’s purpose is to spread joy and empower a sense of prospective agency. Equipped with sensors and targeted input channels, NoMo travels throughout the city and surrounding regions, collecting data on climate, well-being, and happiness. These metrics are projected across its surface for all to witness and engage, invoking a sense of obligation to ourselves, each other, and our host planet. Like an omnipresent metronome, messages in morse code make NoMo’s fleeting presence known, providing a sense of belonging and placemaking as it travels the social distance.
