---
id: "codex://object/under-load"
archive_id: "under-load"
slug: "under-load"
url: "https://ndcodex.com/objects/under-load/"
type: "artifact"
title: "Under Load"
summary: "A skateboard is already a pressure instrument."
date_published: "2026-02-24T00:00:00.000Z"
date_modified: "2026-02-24T00:00:00.000Z"
status: "published"
visibility: "public"
language: "en-US"
axes: {}
themes:
  - "pressure"
  - "collage"
  - "comics"
constellations:
  - "Archaeological Objects"
tags:
  - "pressure"
  - "collage"
  - "comics"
keywords:
  - "Artifact"
  - "pressure"
  - "collage"
  - "comics"
  - "Archaeological Objects"
author:
  id: "nathan-davis"
  name: "Nathan Davis"
  designation: "Archive Operator"
  role: "Archive Operator"
  handle: "@nathandavis"
  avatar: "/media/people/nathan-davis.jpg"
  bio: "Designer, builder, and curator of the Codex Archive."
contributors:
  - id: "nathan-davis"
    name: "Nathan Davis"
    designation: "Archive Operator"
    role: "Archive Operator"
    handle: "@nathandavis"
    avatar: "/media/people/nathan-davis.jpg"
    bio: "Designer, builder, and curator of the Codex Archive."
relations:
  - kind: "related"
    target: "codex://object/deck-under-load-ii"
    slug: "deck-under-load-ii"
    url: "https://ndcodex.com/objects/deck-under-load-ii/"
  - kind: "related"
    target: "codex://object/pressure-psalm-v"
    slug: "pressure-psalm-v"
    url: "https://ndcodex.com/objects/pressure-psalm-v/"
  - kind: "related"
    target: "codex://object/signal-descent-001"
    slug: "signal-descent-001"
    url: "https://ndcodex.com/objects/signal-descent-001/"
media:
  - kind: "image"
    src: "/media/artifacts/under-load-hero.svg"
    role: "hero"
    alt: "Deck collage plate with compression arcs and panel blocks."
  - kind: "image"
    src: "/media/artifacts/deck-under-load-ii-detail.svg"
    role: "detail"
    alt: "Close detail crop of sealed collage edge texture."
---
The deck is the field.

Panels extracted from various sources, 1987-2004.
Action sequences. Compression moments. Bodies mid-impact.

The assembly process took eleven sessions across three weeks.

The polyurethane makes it permanent. This was deliberate.

A skateboard is already a pressure instrument.
Add language about withstanding.
The object becomes a document.