Chapter 1: The Bicycle Project



The birth of the bicycle project came out of my frustration of having many bikes stolen. It is a hazard of New York City life. How many of us have locked up a bike only to come back and find the seat missing, the tires gone, or various other parts removed? Sometimes the whole bike is gone and only the mangled lock remains.

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As the project evolved it took on a new meaning. In 1997 I started having autoimmune problems. My body changed. So did the meaning of the project. Since then, I've had my thyroid removed, a hysterectomy, and a stroke like incident leaving me with a speech language problem called aphasia. In April 2011, a brain tumor was removed.

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With every surgery, I could relate to the bikes lying there with another part stripped away. As a direct result of this, I entered the world of Welfare, Food Stamps and Medicaid. Decisions about my health were not made by me. At times I was the bike and the lock. I felt locked into a system that I didn't know how to navigate. I felt like a bike with no wheels or handle bars to steer me. I felt cast aside and left to decay.

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The project started out of my frustration of having my bikes stolen or their parts removed. It turned out to be my autobiography. I became the bikes. I felt abandoned and left behind by the system. On a much larger scale, the bikes represent sick and disabled people. How many of these bikes do we walk by everyday and not even notice?