The Past is Prologue
Shiftwork collaborated with Subframe, an audio storytelling platform, to create The Past is Prologue an investigation of the San Francisco Panama Pacific International Exposition (PPIE) site through the lens of long-term change. Crafted for the California Historical Society to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the PPIE, the pieces explores how the site we currently call the Marina has changed over the millennia. Combining images, historical timelines and artistic renderings of times past, Shiftworks investigates how the site has physically changed and tracks the forces that enacted those changes. Understanding how the area went from hillside to wetland to the site of the PPIE, from thriving urban area to disaster zone following the Loma Prieta earthquake, helps us appreciate that no matter how much the ground beneath our feet feels solid, the world we live in is always shifting into something new.
The Past is Prologue was shared with the public through an interactive listening event held at the Palace of Fine Arts in the winter of 2016.
We made a video version for those who weren't able to make the installation. Check out below!