Teresa Dillon
KEYWORDS
Location specific performance-installation on the concepts of wealth, consumption and production using Radio Frequency Identification, tag technologies
WHEN AND WHERE?
October, 2005 at the John Wesley New Rooms, 18th century chapel/museum in the heart of Bristol's retail centre Broadmead
ABOUT MEASC
The John Wesley New Room was once, a meeting house, medical dispensary, school, preaching room and family home. Wesley used the site as his base and preached for fair trade and against slavery at a time when it was an active part of Bristol life.
An ideal site within which Polar Produce thought to create a live art-installation, which reflected on the themes of consumerism and production. Add to this the group decided to uniquely use RFID (radio frequency identification) tag technologies.
RFID tags are currently used within the retail sector for the tracking of good across warehouses. On a basic level RFID tags are small silicon chips with an antenna. When placed on an object the tags can be read by an antenna, which once attached to a computer can give the location of the object. In Measc Polar Produce used RFID technology to explore audience-performer and performer-performer relationships in relation to the triggering of fixed and locative media (sound, music, image, visuals, graphic) content.
Scattered across these outside and inside areas were hotspots. When the performers and audience wandered across these hotspots their tagged maps were read. Depending on the type of map they had this in turn triggered a related media sample in real time, which again added another layer to this immersive live art environment.
At the start of the performance audience members swapped their tickets for a RFID tagged map in what was called the 'market place'. Here audience members were encouraged to sell their souls and buy goods as performers lay claim and divided the outside slabs of concrete among themselves. Following their map the audience could then take a number of pre-defined routes through the building or choose to wonder freely.
Each of the outside and inside areas subtly and abstractly referred to some aspect of consumerism or production be it the overindulgence at the 'Abigail-Mad Hatter' style party. The silent selling of the body in the upstairs rooms or the movement of people, goods and ships as represented by the performers in the body of the main building as well as through the various media content.
Best considered as a live performative installation Measc further explored Polar Produce's interest in site specific work. In particular how the architecture, cultural and historical context of a particular place can be used to evoke particular feelings and imaginations though the creation of rabbits holes or alternative surfaces and depths within which the audience can play with what is real and unreal.
SUPPORT AND THANKS
Measc was commissioned by Bristol City Council as part of Creative Bristol. Creative Bristol is an initiative of Bristol Cultural Development Partnership, Arts Council England South West, Bristol City Council and Business West with support from The National Lottery and the Millennium Commission. Measc was also supported in kind by Alien Technologies, Integrated Product Intelligence, The Mobile Bristol Centre, HP Labs, Sony UK and the Arnolfini.
We would especially like to thank The John Wesley New Room, Bristol without their collaboration and cooperation this project would not have been possible.