The TAKEOVER at Aberystwyth Arts Centre.
An early morning beginning… I arrived at the Arts Centre on time with my portable EMF testing kit and leaflets and posters ready. We put on our TAKEOVER t-shirts and were photographed and then two hours of set up time vanished and the show began. It was easy to set up my installation and I had time to be useful to other members of the group who had much more preparation to do.
I was pleased with the whole exhibition, there was great variety and I enjoyed the many different responses to our theme of home. Performances, workshops, sculptures, installations, photography, film and free drinks and cup cakes. Unbeatable!
My installation involved posters with QR codes that linked to audio pieces built on the EMF radiation in particular locations within the Arts Centre. I incorporated music that was formed from the Arts Centre postal address using different arrangements of the melodies and different instruments for each location. The public could take a “treasure map” with the locations marked on a floorpan of the Arts Centre and search for the QR codes to hear the hidden sounds capture in each space.
Originally I my intention was to put the posters on the walls of the Arts Centre, but with a “no-white-tack” policy I had to change my implementation and use chairs to support the posters. Fortunately, there were many chairs marking the exhibitor’s spaces and my chairs “stood out from the crowd”.
I have no way of knowing how many people scanned how many QR codes to listen to how many audio tracks. That is something I could rectify if I were install the work elsewhere in the future.
It was suggested that I make the QR codes available outside of the TAKEOVER exhibition, so I made a post with all of the QR posters, so people can scan them and listen after the exhibition has ended.
Click this link to visit the posters page: https://creativeartsaberystwyth.university/2022/05/07/home-from-home-posters/
On reflection, I feel that my project was a success. The people I talked to seemed impressed with the concept and the functionality of the piece. I was pleased that my project was nothing like any of the other exhibits and generally I am confident that my ideas were strong and my execution of those ideas was performed well.
Some of the audience struggled with the technology in one way or another… some couldn’t get their phone to scan the posters, some didn’t have a phone… I knew this would be an inclusivity issue, but the great majority of people have access to technology that is capable of involving the person in the installation. It was mentioned that this kind of installation could be staged almost anywhere. It is encouraging that the work I had done in the Interdisciplinary Practice modules has enough depth, scope and flexibility to be able to travel to different places, to be staged in different places, to translate to different places. My next challenge is to search out some different places and make a mark.