The Show

The Happenings...

These photos are from the box distributions and projection nights. I felt a little sneaky taking photos of people from my car so when it became clear that the people lurking around had a map with them, i went to talk to them.
It seems funny to me now that i never really considered this aspect of my work, that i would in fact become another medium through which the work is understood.
Most of the people that came were enthusiastic, few were disappointed and upset...they hadn't in fact won a trip.
Talking with the people that showed up (all males) was fascinating, as their expectations and my intentions were so very different.
Some proclaimed they 'got it' while others were more content to just stand back. Either way, everyone was polite and seemed to be happy to participate.
The stories about how the boxes were found were great. One man said that the box fell from the sky right beside him (actually fell out of a tree!)
One guy said he wanted to open the treasure chest with the key...i told him he was welcome to try!

The Happenings...

Projected.

The projections for this treasure hunt took place thursday 12th at 6:37 pm and friday 13th june at 6:47pm. The two locations used were the Meridian mall wall on Filleul st and the Captian Cook pub side wall just off Great King St.
The image projected was a locked golden treasure box.
Unfortunately it was quite faint on the Meridian wall, but worked better for Captain Cook.

Just Some Words From Wiki...

The artwork creates a social environment in which people come together to participate in a shared activity. Bourriaud claims "the role of artworks is no longer to form imaginary and utopian realities, but to actually be ways of living and models of action within the existing real, whatever scale chosen by the artist."

In Relational Art, the audience is envisaged as a community. Rather than the artwork being an encounter between a viewer and an object, relational art produces intersubjective encounters. Through these encounters, meaning is elaborated collectively, rather than in the space of individual consumption.

Photos...

An energy efficiency dilemma...

An issue that arose for me from my last work and this work is the use of petrol to power the slide projectors (with a generator.) I'd rather not.

Making a mobile projection unit that doesn't require HEAPS of energy is more tricky than I thought.

So there are some other possibilities...

One.

Building a slide projector:

This would need high powered LED lamp (expensive) and optician lenses (expensive.) But by FAR the most energy efficient method... requiring no power supply other than torch batteries. Too bad there isn't really any way of knowing or testing this method cheaply. 

Two.

Using a power inverter and a car battery (not hooked up to the car) to run the projector:

This only requires the use of a charged car battery and a power inverter which converts the power from A/C to D/C... i think. Should be fairly inexpensive but potentially difficult to get my hands on the right inverter. Could be problematic with draining the battery quickly too.

Three.

Using the power inverter with the car running:

Not a desirable method as I'm trying to avoid use of petrol as much as possible. Again dependent on the inverter being right. However at least it would still be mobile, easy...

Four.

Using a hired petrol generator:

Don't really want to go about this method again. It cost too much to hire the generator and i want to be more flexible with multiple locations and dates/times. Also this method is not helpful because it requires that i be with the generator outside throughout the entire projection when i want to be more anonymous.

some process photos

wooh hundreds of free keys!

Inital Proposal

Project Three

Urban Treasure Maps

Introduction
I will create a series of ‘treasure maps’ that have specific instructions to a location at a given time in order to view and participate in an artwork projection/ a series of projections. Essentially the maps would operate as a kind of invitation to my work and a chance to reach a different audience.
The maps will be placed in public, as something to potentially stumble upon. The finder effectively becomes the ‘hunter’….participating in a hunt of discovery.

The underlying theme of the projected works could surround the idea of a child’s treasure hunt. Perhaps an idea that I can translate into a quest of sorts?

Projected onto buildings could be a pot of gold…the treasure…placed within an urban consumer context…but ultimately something transient and untouchable. A comment on material possessions…a chance to deny and be denied the shiny promise that we are led to believe.

I would like to keep the works I create in some way interactive. The works would obviously stay within the vein of activist work with the intention of raising awareness surrounding issues of consumption.

I would love for the projected works to be more self-sufficient however …something I could set up and walk away from for a longer period of time.

This potentially means getting permission/ access to surrounding buildings and power supplies.
Hopefully ill be able to create documentation of viewers participating.
At the very least I’ll record the projections in photographic format.

As with the Fonterra work, ill play with the scale of the projections in relation to the surface/building it is projected onto.

A final ‘pot of gold’ projection series could be planned for the time of the exhibition, in areas close by, to accompany whatever documentation I show during the exhibition.

Practical considerations

• Appropriate building location for projection
• Power supply
• Ability to leave work set up and walk away
• What if the maps are never found

Materials

• Slide projectors (perhaps multiple projections simultaneously?)
• Photographic material converted to slides
• Power supplies (to be considered when locations are defined)
• Maps. Maybe a more sculptural form, a 3dimensional object that can be transported easily. Something enticing.