| Part
1 The first part involved Battery
Operated having a ‘black box’ from an aircraft
replicated by a metal fabrication company to industry specifications.
The box was then sprayed the same pantone colour as black
boxes are (an orange/red colour) and the inside of it split
into 10 sections. 10 sound and video artists were then chosen
from around the world:-
UK - Richard. H.Kirk (Cabaret Voltaire),
France - Mathias Delplanque +Emmanuel Corre, Holland –
Freiband (Goem), USA - Kurt Ralske (242 Pilots), Canada
– Identification, Korea – Kim Ki-Chul, Hong
Kong - Digital CutUpLounge, Japan - Sachiko M,
New Zealand - Gate (Michael Morley), Australia – Pretty
Boy Crossover
Each sound/video artist was asked to think
of their favourite conspiracy theory. The project required
that each artist submit up to 6 minutes of sound material
and visual material (video, photographs etc.) that would
be put into one of the 10 sections of the black box (one
section per artist/s.) Both sound and visual material would
reference, talk about, involve, and suggest the conspiracy
theory that the artist/s chose. A text explaining the conspiracy
was also required from each artist/s involved.
Thus the black box was couriered around
the world from artist to artist, collecting sonic, visual
and textual conspiracies as it progressed to its destination
in Australia and to the MAAP festival headquarters. Duplications
of all the material in the black box were made and sent
back to Battery Operated’s studios, where the sound
and video collaboration started working on the material
submitted to the box. Battery Operated’s work was
based upon the idea of sampling the sound and video work
to produce new global conspiracies (i.e. parts from each
conspiracy were used to reformulate a new theory/narrative
that came in part from each of 10 different countries).
Part 2
The second part of the project was an installation
carried out at La Chambre Blanche in Quebec City in Canada.
The images below are documentation from this show.
A room was constructed in the gallery
space. This room was built using the ratios from an actual
black box from an aircraft and therefore became a larger
inhabitable black box that acted as an office space where
an audience could enter. Outside of the enlarged box, the
floor revealed a large gaping hole suggesting that the box
had fallen from the sky and caused the damage.
Inside the black box / office space, people
entered and talked to a receptionist who worked in the space.
They could then listen and watch the work produced for the
first part of the project, which resided in the original
replica (real size) black box that was sent around the world
and subsequently found its home in the office space / enlarged
black box. In return they were asked to submit their own
favourite conspiracy theory in written or recorded form.
The conspiracy theories collected over the duration of the
month long exhibition were subsequently archived into a
database. In this way the space became a trading post for
conspiracy theories.
|
