The lifespan of “traces”––marks and/or objects left behind by people––is determined by power structures both obvious and obscure. Durable/Transient reorders nine particular traces on Los Angeles’ Main Street in accordance with their projected longevity. Taking into account material, political and cultural durability, we attempt to reimagine why some traces outlast others.

 

Moving from left to right, the map first shows the nine traces mapped onto their corresponding geographical locations on Main Street, running from the Civic Center to Olvera Street. We then chart the traces’ durability on three gradients––material, political, cultural––before placing an iconographic representation of the trace as ordered from most transient (top) to most durable (bottom). Finally, we write a speculative future for each trace.

In so doing, Durable/Transient attempts to disrupt presumed states of permanence and ephemerality. By telling wildly speculative stories rooted in historical specifics, we invite the viewer of the map to question our assumptions, and reconsider what gets remembered and forgotten across multiple temporalities.