Phenotypes (2001-ongoing) In this installation, a 360 degree projection of a new cul-de-sac development envelops the viewer. As traffic passes by, the distant sounds of pile driving can be heard.
Phenotypes (2001-)
In the ring-shaped cul-de-sac of Phenotypes , viewers are turned into night-time voyeurs,
as they watch the activities of people inside their seemingly cloned suburban homes.
The enveloping projected image is hazy and blurred as if viewed through a thick atmosphere.
Conceptually, the work is an ongoing installation: new video narratives are periodically added to the
visual archive (to mirror the flux of a dwelling of neighbourhood over time). Each time it is exhibited,
the artist chooses what particular indoor activities are represented (these are superimposed video channels).
Examples of Chapters
...a woman stares at a screen, constantly adjusting her position on the couch.
Location.
The image of the cul-de-sac is a panorama that the artist shot during
daylight.
Other than the darkened sky and area darkened for the projection of traffic, the image the image has not been altered.
This development was built in Coquitlam BC in the late 1990's adjacent to
the major freeway leading into Vancouver. The garage and expansive driveways seem to reflect car culture, emphasize
commuting and leave little room for floura and fauna.
The enveloping projected image is hazy and blurred as if viewed through a thick atmosphere.
Phenotypes (detail of "James" chapter)
...A bispecled fellow is reading from several pages in front of him, seemingly in preparation for something.
.. . a young boy who contemplates his surroundings and periodically returns to a book (on
architecture). As he looks out onto the overly manicured vista before
him, his thoughts (in a thought bubble) reveal some of the images he has just seen in the
book. Of the places mentioned in his thoughts, Salix house, Tanglefoot
and Feuillette Maison (1921, the first known Bale house) are all
residential houses that were built in consideration of their existing
environments. Then he makes a mess...