THE ACUPUNCTURE PROJECT / Treatment for Portland

art & acupuncture for the city

installation begins spring 2010

In March 2008, I was the guest artist in Portland’s new South Waterfront neighborhood, where I brainstormed this idea with help from acupuncturists & acupuncture students, city planners, ecologists, artists, writers, public art professionals and the general public.  Together we envisioned Portland as a metaphorical body, explored how energy flows through the city from an acupuncture perspective, debated which parts of the city correspond to the different acupuncture organs and meridian systems and where the city’s health problems are.

This project explores the interface between art, regional planning, traditional Chinese medicine and the health of a city. Unfolding over the course of 6 months, the rolling installation will coincide with a series of workshops that Portland's Dept. of Planning & Sustainability is hosting to gather public input for the Portland Plan, a guide for the city's growth over the next 25 years.  Needles appearing across the city will bring attention to many of the issues the planners are currently grappling with, as well as healthy places that represent some of the city’s most cherished assets.

Over the course of the month, a wall of maps filled up with concerns and suggestions for Portland’s healthy and well being. I got input from the City of Portland & Vision PDX,  the Coalition for a Livable Future, The Portland Audubon Society, Portland State University, Urban Greenspaces Institute, and Metro, who also donated many of the maps,


In addition to the expected issues of traffic congestion, the environment, affordability, safety and education, overall, there was a general consensus that Portland is at a crossroads between what it has been -  a livable, affordable, family-friendly & human-scaled place to live - to what it is becoming, a world-class cosmopolitan city becoming encumbered with all the issues and problems that come with that status.

Using acupuncture as a metaphor, think of the city as a one integrated physical, energetic and spiritual body the way Chinese medicine does. Energy, or Chi, could take many forms in the urban setting, such as utilities, transportation, information, politics, recreation and natural features just to name a few. Chinese medicine also associates different emotional and mental states with each meridian. People are also part of a city’s energetic flow. There could be places where the city's Qi is flowing or blocked, deficient or overactive, places of congestion, neglect or conflict, or places of vitality, serenity and beauty.

Seen through the lens of acupuncture, here are some possible correlations  between a city and a human body:


HEART (supreme controller, spirituality, connection to higher reality, ancestors)  = mayor, religious institutions, cultural institutions, art, places for ritual, music and celebration, native american & colonial history


LIVER (vision, strategy, endurance) =  politics, city planning, government agencies, fuel supply & reserves


SPLEEN (transportation and distribution, coursing and draining, primary healer)  = mass transit, automobiles, roadways, commerce, healthcare


LUNG (receiving pure energy from the heavens, freedom, vitality, nobility) = nature, parks & gardens, city reservoirs, open space, air quality, outdoor recreation, leisure, high society, exclusive clubs, air travel, judiciary


KIDNEY (basis of life, vital essences, eternal and infinite source, DNA ) = streams, rivers, lakes, marshes, marshes, natural resources


STOMACH (ripening and rotting, food and drink, storehouse, granary) = food supply, farmers markets, housing, entertainment, nightlife


GALL BLADDER (control, motivation) =  police, fire, safety / rallying, activism, lobbying


LARGE INTESTINE (drainage, keeping the precious, letting go of impurities) = banking, manufacturing, railways,  ships yards, garbage, solid waste stream, recycling, sustainability industries


BLADDER (storing and utilizing reserves, boundary between self and non-self) =  reservoirs, drinking water, water treatment & sewer system, urban growth boundary


SMALL INTESTINE (wisdom, truth, virtue, sorting good from bad, morality, charity) =  judiciary, schools, colleges,  universities, shelters, nursing homes, charitable organizations, social services

Needle testing is currently underway...