Project Description
Displaced Reflection
Displaced Reflections examines the possibilities of high traffic areas and creates rewarding possibilities for individuals who slow (and stop) with an overlapping video history of other individuals who have done the same.
The camera and television/projection system captures video of an individual, and (based on their speed of movement) displays previously recorded video of other previous passersby. As they speed up or slow down, the images change. Someone walking quickly past the area will only see overlapping videos of individuals walking at a similar pace and other motion-blurring video effects. The passerby who slows down reveals images of others who have also walked by the storefront and done the same. Over time, the recorded material becomes an archive of whomever has walked by. Individuals who slow and stop are rewarded with their presence clearly overlapped over other members of their new digital community and are able to leave their own personal mark.
This piece works on a framework of social networking in the 20th century, allowing for an adjustment of experiencing all dimensions of time, facilitating a shared evolving conversation. This piece challenges the idea of impersonal busy areas and transforms them into to communal meeting points.
One important aspect is that passersby are immediately displayed on the video. Their ‘present’ state overlayed with the past create an immediate connection with the space and the past. An individual’s realization of this shared dialogue is another rewarding reason to slow and encourage further interaction.
Artists: Nick Hwang, Tom LaPann