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The Ecstasy of Truth
This was an adventure into the realms of public video
Project 3: Projects
Redcliffe Bridge, Bristol UK
This was a dual, interacting, synchronised video display in collaboration with performance artist Marina Sossi. The two videos ran on a 5 minute loop. Both screens showed a 'life size' image of a woman, the two images communicating solely by gesture in the form of action and response. Although the woman playing in each video was clearly the same, each differed a little in appearance.
The installation was in a decommissioned bascule bridge control room at a pinch-point on the route between the business district to the residential area of Bristol. The installation ran during the evening rush hour to catch the high footfall and finished when it became quiet, three hours later.
This was an experimental work to gauge perception of video installations in a public space. It was part of research relating to how people react to non-traditional public art. Do people watch it through or ignore it and get on with their busy, stressed lives. Some interacted with it. Some thought the woman was real at first and some glanced at it and just saw it as another clever advertising campaign.
It's interesting to watch people passing or stopping to look. There was no attempt to explain the videos, although there was a narrative within the two videos. Those who stopped and watched soon realized the videos were interacting together.
..... but it was lots of fun to do and reaction by a cross-section of the public to video art became a little clearer.
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