Artwork Description

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Heard is an interactive artwork exploring cultural and social views through sophisticated tracking technology in virtual as well as physical space. This work explores ideas around online social networking environments and how the proliferation of these spaces effect the way by which people relate and interact with one another.

The artwork invites audiences to wear a wireless digital headpiece and ‘become’ one of the characters they see on screen. They then physically explore the installation space as well as a virtual environment, which is projected onto the wall in front of them. As they walk around the space, they listen to the musings of the character they have chosen to ‘become’: a little girl, an elderly lady or a young doctor. These characters (through a pre-recorded script created by writers each assuming one of the characters) reflect upon their ideals, values, hopes and dreams. The whimsical exchange between characters is based on everyday moments and activities. When there is more than one person in the space, a conversation between characters is triggered when people approach one another. This conversation can be heard through the headpieces as well as seen in text that appears on the projected screen.

Brood Box
8 Rankins Lane Melbourne / off lt Bourke Street
between Queen + Elizabeth Street
Mobile 0412 495 899 / info@broodbox.com.au

Open / Monday to Saturday 7am-5pm / Closed Sundays
all other times by appointment only

Fri 12/02/2010 - Opening Night from 6pm
Sat 13/02/2010 - Gallery Open
Sun 14/02/2010 - Gallery Closed
Mon 15/02/2010 - Gallery Open
Tue 16/02/2010 - Gallery Open

www.broodbox.com.au

About The Artwork

Rhys Turner and Melissa Ramos were awarded a commission from Experimenta to create an interactive artwork.  Our work explores social interactions and conversions through technology and public space. The commision asks us to "look closely at your surroundings, both local and global, and consider what would you fight for? What would you fight to prevent? What are you willing to put yourself on the line to protect or create? What is that world, neighbourhood, landscape, or object? And how does it look, sound, and feel?"

Heard is an interactive artwork exploring cultural and social views through progressive and emerging technological phenomena. It's a snap shot of a dynamically shifting paradigm in which technology plays a significant role. We wish to use this technology and cultural movement as a key part of our artwork.

Heard is an interactive artwork using sophisticated tracking technology called Augmented Reality (AR) in the virtual and physical space.

The artwork invites audiences to wear a wireless digital costume, or interface, then explore the installation space and virtual environment. When viewers come close I each other the avatar they have chosen begins to speak through the Wireless sound device and headphones. The conversations are randomly selected from a prerecorded sound bank written by each character’s writer, and present what they are passionate about. The types of characters and how they all converse and connect with each other all come from different ages and backgrounds.

Within the installation space there are hiden micro-narrative or cookies that when the viewers find them or each other a story unfolds.

Watch Animation Sequence Here

Technical Brief Click Here

 

About Experimenta

Experimenta is Australia’s leading organisation dedicated to commissioning, exhibiting and promoting the most advanced media and technology-based art.

Experimenta is privileged to commission and mentor artists who extend the creative boundaries of technology in works of surprising potency and imagination.

www.experimenta.org

Artists

Rhys Turner

Recently completing a Masters of Visual Arts at Sydney College of the Arts in Media Arts and winning an Australian Postgraduate Award for the degree, Rhys Turner has been exploring new media modes since exhibiting in the students section of 2001: A space Odyssey: Sensation and Immersion, NSW Art Gallery 2001. His work moves through different new media forms form web (www.digital-dirt.com.au) to DVD (Industrial 3x3), CDROM and interactive sound programs (Synaesthesia 1).

Turner’s most recent work Video Stereo and Tracer is a part of his current body of work Etherscapes. Video Stereo uses a 1200 Technics turntable, a computer system and a modified 1960s stereo unit to allow the audience to physically interact with video and sound. Tracer takes another step and uses a web camera to track audience movement in the space and then triggers different video clips. Both these pieces explores how the influence Media effects society and attempts to reverse that process by giving control of the Image to the audience. Other themes of his work develop the idea of non-linear, chaos and ‘micro’ narratives as well as alternative interfaces and the digital aesthetic. Turners work challenges traditional modes of perception in hope of promoting thought and ideas of current social trends and ‘Image’.

Websites:
www.rtek.com.au
www.digitaldirt.com.au
www.xyray.rtek.com.au

Melissa Ramos

Melissa Ramos is an emerging new media artist. Graduating in Electronic Arts at the University of Western Sydney, School of Contemporary Arts in 2003. She frequently uses, as the setting for her projects, places marked emotionally and sensitive in some specific way, conducting multi-layered realities on nature, culture and technology issues. Producing a body of experiments from video, sound, installation, site specific, performance and web base artworks.

Melissa Ramos has exhibited in Sydney, Performance Space, Gallery 4A, First Draft, Casula Powerhouse, Fairfield Art Centre, Blacktown Art Centre, Scott Donovan Gallery, Art Gallery of NSW and internationally, Kuala Lumpur National Gallery, Manila Metropolitan Museum, and Bangkok National Gallery.

Website:
www.melissaramos.com.au

The Writers

Cat Jones

Character: Daphne (Old lay with a dog)
Bio: Lives in Sydney, artist, performer, creative writer.

Hugo Bowne-Anderson

Chatacter: Victor (Man in Suit)
Bio: Hugo is a freelance writer and mathematician currently completing his PhD in Pure Mathematics.

Erica Englert

Character: Chloe (Little Girl)
Bio: Lives in Sydney, artist, performer, creative writer.

 

Michelle Keomany

Bio: Lives in Sydney, writes music reviews, voice over artist, writes for radio

Jason Tuckwell

Bio: Lives in Sydney, artist , writing his PHD on art and nature, & lectures creative writing at University of Western Sydney.

 

 

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website :: RTEK