The ElicitSHOW Media Release
The ElicitSHOW is concerned not only with the expressive and communicative possibilities of new technology but also with the social, cultural and ethical consequences of living within an increasingly technologically mediated society. Tim Devine is currently Artist in Residence at the State Library of Victoria. The ElictSHOW is and exhibition of his work from for the past year. In 2004 he studied and taught Interaction design in Austria whist working on a research proposal for Siemens mobile. In 2007 he is off London to the Royal College of Art to study for his MA of Design Interactions. Below is a selection of works that will be in the ElicitSHOW.
Elicit*
Elicit* establishes a virtual space in a very public open space for people to meet and interact with each other. Elicit* helps to introduce people. It is a 6x4m screen displaying a mirror image of the space. The image on the screen is exactly the same space but it has copies of each person as they move through the space. The aim is to create chance encounters with others in a virtual space and then possibly in the real space. In the past open public spaces such as squares were places for people to meet and talk. Virtual spaces are now the preferred place to meet. Elicit* might be both.
ElicitBILLBOARD
ElicitBILLBOARD detects an individual’s Bluetooth phone ID and generates a montage of the highest ranked images found searching the internet using that ID. If, for example, there are two people waiting at a bus stop, each broadcasting their Bluetooth phone ID, one is ‘George’ and the others name is ‘Alpha’, ElicitBILLBOARD searches for images on the internet using those names and generates a montage displayed on the ElicitBILLBOARD. So ‘George’ and ‘Alpha’ have created an image together for all the world to see, or at least the people on the next bus. How do people use a ‘digital’ or ‘virtual’ identity. As an identity, alias or perhaps a voice? What does a Bluetooth ID reflect about you? Public spaces such as bus stops and train stations can be anonymous spaces while the World Wide Web is a giant visual resource generated and rated by its users. How would you feel if the rest of the world could see a representation of your ID and it was a misrepresentation of images from the www? How would you react if you went to the bus stop each realized that you were responsible for the image of your phone being displayed on a billboard because your Bluetooth ID was the model of your phone i.e. K608i?
ElicitTV
ElicitTV offers the viewer an opportunity to play and manipulate content in real-time by simply waving their hands through the air, and by doing so create a barrier between the screen and the viewer and provoke an awareness or questioning of what is being broadcast. If for example a child was set down to watch television but had the choice to play with the image they were viewing through body movement, would they be less inclined to glorify the content? Would the idea of a celebrity exist of be lessened? ElicitTV, suggests that TV as it stands, is a one-way experience and as a result is partly responsible for the glorification of the celebrity. In addition, what is broadcast is increasingly permeated by advertising campaigns and we are essentially left with billboards in our homes.
ElicitNEWSPAPER
An extension of ElicitPAPER, ElicitNEWSPAPER is a comfortable place for people to sit and draw on a communal sheet of paper amongst rich red cushions. It is a designed experience where how you draw or write on the paper effects what is heard through the speakers that surround you. The sounds to play with are live news and talkback radio from a variety of languages. Draw slow, fast, long, short or sharp, all over the paper for the latest news and opinions all over the world.
