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Passages is an interactive art installation exploring the traces left behind by the passage of people through a public, urban landscape. By tracking the movement of people, and creating a persistent, but gradually fading, visual trail of this motion, the piece reflects the transient, yet important, impact that our movement through a spatial landscape has on the temporal landscape of memory. The piece was shown as part of the Singapore Art Show 2005's Creative Curating Lab, 23 September-23 October 2005, at CityLink Mall.
This project was created by Alexander Mitchell with Patricia Lim and Ng Wen Lei, and was curated by Susie Wong.
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| The installation explores the idea of memory and communication in an urban public space. In a natural space, such as a grassy field or a forest, the character of the space changes over time based on how people use it and how people move through it – wearing down a path, leaving physical evidence of the passage of people. The constant changes to the environment act as a memory of those who have passed by, and provide a subtle communication between people who may never meet, but have passed through the same space at different times.
In contrast, a man-made urban space, such as the CityLink Mall tunnel, is a controlled environment where people moving through have little if any impact on the space. There is a memory in public spaces, but it isn’t visible to those who pass through; instead, it takes the form of pervasive monitoring devices and surveillance equipment, through which all our movements are recorded. However, unlike a public space, we don’t have access to that memory. Control of the memory of the space is no longer available to the community, but instead resides with the authorities/owners of the space. This removal of control and loss of the communicative elements of a public space is in effect a process of privatization of what was once a public space.
The installation made visible the movements through a space, and the invisible changes that take place over time, by recording and visualizing the passage of people through the tunnel, providing a semblance of the worn path that is created by many people walking through a grassy field. The piece also captured glimpses of the people who have passed through, providing fleeting memories of who had been there, while at the same time suggesting how our movement is monitored. The piece encouraged people to reflect on the hidden memories of a place, and how their passage through the space, although fleeting, does indeed have an impact on the space, and may have been recorded without our knowledge.
The installation consisted of a video camera recording movement through the space in front of the display area, several televisions, and a computer. The camera recorded people’s movements, which were displayed on the televisions. The computer displayed the camera’s image whereever motion was detected. These movements were later replayed, ghostlike, as transparent overlays on top of the live video, and gradually faded over time, showing the traces of movements of people who had passed through the space in the past.
Singapore Art Show 2005 Catalogue, National Arts Council, Singapore, 2005, p. 63-63.
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