How
do you go about creating pieces; is it a long process with many
ideas?
The
pieces use a consistent codes and systems, so the process begins with
the development of these systems. The possibilities afforded by the
formal constraints of these codes is then explored in the studio on
different levels – spatial, aesthetic, semiotic and so on. In this
show the pieces are connected to landscape and possible spaces, each
is an abstraction of certain topography, so the process centres
around this particular idea. There are a couple of different levels
to the process – scale models, prototyping – it draws upon
architecture and software development as much as it does art and
design.
What
materials do you use?
My
hybrid practice blends sculpture, sound, programming, animation and
installation in which the work exists in a mixed reality that
traverses the object, the screen, form and space. In
a way, I see these as the materials that make up the work. The
creation of the sculptures involves more ‘hard materials’ such as
acrylic, plywood and hardboard laser cut components that are
assembled using rules and systems.
How
is code and language used?
Each
sculpture is a code constructed via a language created for the
pieces, as described previously. They are part of a larger project
that explores the possibilities of nonverbal and visual languages and
the kind of worlds and experiences that these manifest. Each language
embeds within it a certain worldview or way of being and I’m really
interested in how this plays out, especially in the digital era when
each interface, game, system represents a language in itself and so a
potentially different way of seeing the world.
How
much of an influence is the abstract painters of the past?
Largely
through my interest in synaesthesia during the 90s (at that time
connected to new media arts, electronica and interactive media) I
became interested in the formative years of abstraction, where
synaesthesia was a major influence. Klee, Kandinsky and Miró are
favourites from that period. Later I have found painters from this
time working with asemic writing – a freeform type of writing with
no semantic content – and ideograms which have also factored into
this more recent work.
Your
work is often interactive but the stand alone sculptures seem to a
break away from that…
When
I first started working with sculpture and mixed realities I saw
material objects as portals or signposts linking back to digital and
virtual worlds. Increasingly digital spaces are integrated and
embedded in the material world, so much so that there is little, if
any, distinct line between the two. There is more of a multiplicity
of worlds, many layers of reality. Each sculpture is a material
expression of a computer program or code. So while they stand alone
as aesthetic objects that have a kind of latent potential underneath
the surface to be decoded – the interactive piece in this show
manifests this process – this is part of the multiplicity expressed
in the work, each sculpture is an aesthetic object, a digital code,
part of a language, and so on.
The
digital era has influenced art in many ways….
In
many ways yet to be discovered, there is a lot of unwritten history
there! Some people, myself included, call our current time
‘postdigital’ as digital modes of communication and expression
are so ubiquitous and pervasive. That said, there is still a lot to
be decoded. My PhD thesis was on the poetics of digital media, the
many new forms of expression that manifest in the digital era through
structures such as games, networks, interaction and so on. Too much
to go into right now, but one aspect that has really interested me
for a long time is the inherent abstraction in digital spaces,
exploring the units and codes that they are made of, which in turn
leads to new forms of materiality.
What
is the main idea or concept that you want people to take away with
them when they look at your sculptures?
Reflection
on multiplicity and the double meaning of abstraction. Abstraction in
the sense of formal / geometric abstraction which is overtly
referenced in the works, and abstraction in the senses of interactive
systems – the ways in which our world, our lives, and ways of
seeing the world are filtered through algorithms, codes and systems –
this is the language of our times.
Your
pieces would have a different feel if they were put in a laneway,
like street art, They almost have that feel…
That
is in fact where they started. A large part of my public art practice
involves staging street games that explore the play element in
culture. Working with the materials of urban space, the pieces began
their life as environmental signage and game tokens that players
would interact with in different ways, and to mark space for the
Micronation of Ludea. There may still be some out there in Melbourne,
Sydney, Istanbul, Tokyo, Paris…
There
is an interactive sculpture, a piece a little out the back. It
doesn't take centre stage but I thought it could have. Tell us about
that.
That
is working prototype of a larger project. In my public art practice I
have explored art walks using mobile devices to find and decode
markers in streets and laneways to manifest alternate realities in
cities around the world. I’m now looking at ways to stage this type
of interaction within gallery spaces that have their own codes and
systems.
What
are some of your future projects?
Right
now I’m working on developing software to add another layer to the
interactive experience of the sculptures which may manifest inside or
outside the gallery. At some stage I’d like to show all of these
codes and the multiple lives that they have all together in one space
– a mixed reality.
