M.I.U. VII

Studio Orta - 1008
Studio Orta - 1008_a.jpg
Studio Orta - 1008_b.jpg
Studio Orta - 1008_c.jpg

Date: 2003
Ref: 1008
Materials: Reconfigured military lorry, steel structure, 14 campbeds, 14 sleeping linens, armatures, diverse textiles, ladder, number plates, various surplus military objects
Dimensions: 490 x 210 x 360cm
Catalogued: Lucy + Jorge Orta Antarctica, p132-133 & 136, Electa Italy
Exhibition history: 2003 Kaap Helder, Den Helder Holland; 2005 Gwangju Biennale, South Korea; 2007 ICA London; 2008 Hangar Bicocca Milano; Galleria Continua Le Moulin
Courtesy: Lucy + Jorge Orta

Lucy + Jorge Orta begun the M.I.U. (Mobile Intervention Units) series in 2001 as a response to a public art commission for the G8 Environment Summit in Trieste, Italy.
Vehicles such as surplus army trucks, Saviems, Red Cross ambulances, Ape piaggio, and tricycles have been customised into ingenious mobile sculpture for civilian assistance. The MIUs are kitted-out with filtering systems, temporary dormitories, and even kitchens; they bear inscriptions quotations or images referencing survival strategies. Seemingly functional, the vehicles are in fact poetic responses to emergency situations such as, shelter, food or water shortages. They are basic modules of self-sufficiency, capable of facilitating the mobility and autonomy of individuals.