M. Simon Levin

Project description

CODE.lab
M. SIMON LEVIN AND JER THORP
WITH EMILY CARR STUDENTS, FACULTY AND ALUMNI


During the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, tens of thousands of people descended on Granville Island every day. Already one of the most photographed locations in the city, the Island was shot from every angle: images from cameras and mobile phones mixed with surveillance and media images to document every moment from every perspective. In such a photo-saturated environment, who plays the observer? Who is observed?

 

code.lab was a publicly-sited art project that asked visitors to consider these questions and their often ambiguous answers. Visitors were met with a set of performances, constructions, sculptures and interventions. A strange robotic vehicle rolled backwards along the historic Granville Island train tracks, filming the route in reverse. A man stood motionless in the midst of the bustling crowd, his stillness documented by nearby cameras. Mechanized owls perched on high ledges surveyed the activities below. These unique engagements placed participants in situations in which their relationship with image and observation is constantly changing. In the CODE.lab control room, participants are immersed in imagery. A projection-based installation aggregates live feeds from cameras distributed throughout the island. On screen, live and archived images are mixed, suggesting connections between individuals, between moments and between spaces.