Statement

The project is an interactive nomadic installation based inside a custom cargo tricycle. It engages with the idea of bringing the vast amounts of invisible data that exists around us into something somewhat tangible both visually and through audio. We hope to create something where the audience’s presence would influence the audio and visual aspects of the piece based on data collected from their devices in real-time. We plan to not only focus on aspects of privacy, but also more broadly the data that surrounds us—endless oscillations of electromagnetic radiation constantly surging through the spaces around us making modern civilization function and our traditional understandings of our existence. We hope to investigate our conceptions of living within this inescapable technological landscape.

The amount of data that is generated and collected by the technology we use on a daily basis is staggering. The problem with this data is that it is not just a single tangible object that we can point to and say "this is all the data". Rather, it is a hyperobject, a vast and complex network of information that is constantly being generated and collected by a variety of sources. This data is not just a passive object, it is an active force that is constantly shaping and reshaping the world around us. It exists not just as an abstract concept, it has real-world consequences that affect our lives in intangible ways that are difficult to ever fully comprehend. We hope to investigate our conceptions of living within this inescapable technological landscape. The installation will incorporate a range of synthesised mediums and techniques, including; installation, augmented reality, sound, and programming. These elements will be used to create a dynamic and constantly changing environment that audiences can explore and interact with. The primary physical structure of the installation inside the custom fabricated cargo tricycle and will be built primarily from electronic waste.

Through a multimedia experience of augmented reality, sound and video, we aim to bring forward the possibility of new perceptions in the concepts of technology and data, utilising various unique and interactive data visualisation techniques the project will also involve exploring the ethical and societal implications of harnessing and utilising data. The installation operates as a portal, channeling the ethereal into the tangible. This dynamic plays with the concepts of reality and illusion within the collected data. Drawing from the concept of heterotopia, a space that brings together seemingly incompatible facets and exposes contradictions, the project seeks to create a space that embodies such juxtapositions and paradoxes.

In a manner inspired by Foucault's metaphor of a mirror, which illustrates the dualities of utopia and heterotopia, the installation acts as a kind of mirror. It reflects the parallel realities of our tangible surroundings and the intangible world of data. The tricycle, serving as this metaphorical mirror, becomes a conduit for the invisible layers of reality that encircle it. Central to the project's vision is the mobility of the installation structure and its commitment to sustainability. The mobility of the installation speaks directly to the concept of engaging with a transient audience within an urban landscape. By integrating the artwork into a cargo tricycle, the installation becomes an itinerant spectacle, capable of navigating through various neighborhoods, public spaces, and events. This mobility encourages serendipitous interactions and diverse encounters, transforming the mundane into moments of discovery. This adaptability ensures that the project isn't confined to a single location, maximizing its reach and accessibility to a wide range of individuals. Overall, the installation melds physicality and intangibility, probing the boundaries of data-driven art, and the multi-layered realities that encompass our modern lives. It strives to reveal the unseen, spark contemplation, and challenge our perceptions of the omnipresent but often overlooked technological ecosystem that envelops us.