Christa Erickson :: Eternal Climb

In a general economic sense, the forces of the stock market affect us all in our own financial climbs through life. Many are even controlled by its whims through retirement and investment accounts. The Eternal Climb makes this economic process physical as a kind of labor. The video playback of climbing a ladder is literally controlled by the fortunes of the market. An 'up' day on the market displays the hands in green, while a 'down' day is coded red. The speed of playback is based on rate of change in the market within the last 20 minutes. With market volatility, the action becomes frantic. When there is less change, the motion almost comes to a stop with subtle movements in the gesture revealed. These recent changes also dictate the direction of playback. Fluxuations in the ‘up’ direction make the video gesture a climb upward. ‘Down’ fluxuations in the market similarly show a decent. The gesture, however, is Sisyphean as the top always remains out of reach.

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