This project was realized and executed very quickly while at a workshop at Lasalle College of the Arts in Singapore. Made in collaboration with Nova Jiang.

Expanding on the concept of the Situationist “Derive”, this series of objects address ideas of disorientation in a foreign city, while at the same time addressing the unique urban landscape of Singapore. A traveler may tote the objects around in a briefcase, using them to enhance the experience of being lost. Each object addresses a specific aspect of ‘lostness’.

Item 1. Blinders that simulate the experience of tunnel vision at any given location.
Item 2. Flag for reclaiming unfamiliar space. Created from a “propagating” branch which will in turn, will yield a new tree as a gesture of thanks.
Item 3. A collaborative compass that affords paired travelers an exercise in compromise.
Item 4. A map of Singapore made of ice.

Interpreting concepts from the ancient game of Go, these three pieces explore issues of teleology, recurrence and collaboration. Existing in the virtual online game environment of Second Life, this work attempts to challenge commonly held notions of gaming as a process of advancing and acquiring. Rather, it deals in the politics of futility.

Seki | The Surrounding Game

A symbiosis that is reached where each opponent is reliant on one another for life.

Two avatars play a tag-like game on an abandoned island, in an attempt to surround one another. Projected on the rear wall.

Shicho | Avatar as Machine

An infinite formation that must ultimately be abandoned.

A physical disturbance of the playing interface throws the avatar into an infinite loop.

Sente | Avatar that Waits

A move that must be answered.

An avatar waits for an opponent.

The initial inspiration for this project was the idea of amplifying a seemingly insignificant gesture; I chose blinking because it is a gesture that we as humans perform multiple times a minute without considering. This presented an interesting challenge to me: What if the act of blinking could be expanded or harnessed for some kind of benefit, such as documentation? For example, what if I could capture everything I missed while blinking? If this were possible, then I could experience any situation in its totality; I could miss nothing.
The device I built to answer this challenge was a headpiece containing a lever that physically attaches to my right eyelid. My blinking moves the lever in such a way that bridges two contacts on a hacked mouse circuit, connected to my laptop. The consequent “mouse click” asks a short Processing program to grab an image from a live webcam feed. This piece involved several performative walks in which I use the system to experience my environment more fully than the average human.

PHOTOS