i n d i v i d u a l e l e c t r i c , i . e .
s k r i n e t m e d d e t r a r e i or B o o k o f F o r g e t t i n g
screens - art, media, technology, Trondheim Artmuseum 1997
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installation by i n d i v i d u a l e l e c t r i c , i . e . s k r i n e t m e d d e t r a r e i or B o o k o f F o r g e t t i n g screens - art, media, technology, Trondheim Artmuseum 1997 |
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individual electric took
part in s c r e e n s in October
1997, an exhibition for the Norwegian city of Trondheim's 1000th anniversary.
i.e. started by mapping the
word screen, from its origin in the Norse skrin, through shrine, scrine,
screening, fire screen, silkscreen, movie screen, TV and
computer screen. The term that used to describe a sacred box, coffin or temple
later described the act of shielding or protecting someone from
danger, from exposure to heat, wind or staring eyes. Starting with the
technological progress of the 19th century, the screen reveals everything:
photos, movies, TV and computer programs... The first part of the installation title is
derived from a fairytail by the same name, while the last part refers to
all forgotten meaning.
In the installation, one enters a skrin through a keyhole. Inside this microcosm, one finds a shrine where a skrin contains a computer screen that outputs from a computer program responding to mouse manipulations. Digitized sound and images emerge through a collage of screened memory. The skrin with the screen in it has a mirrored lid, in the center of which is a surveillance monitor showing an overhead view of the user(s). The program is simultaneously projected onto a large book consisting of 7 transparent pages or screens. Embedded in the pages are old maps of the city, and objects from various skrin; tools, jewelry, money, love letters etc. The sound and light conditions in this interior vary with the movement and choices of the visitors as they explore the screen.
The keyhole is an aluminum painted box, lined in black velvet. It's floor is a rusty metal grate bridge. Inside the museum room, a green mesh covers the floor, walls and ceiling and creates a transparent chapel shaped room within the room. The shrine is made of fiberglass walls embedded with computer memory boards. The skrin containg the computer screen is made of discarded computer hard drives. The 7 transparent pages or screens are also made in fiberglass, bound by an oversized welded ringbinder. The Book of Forgetting has a metal cover and measures 2 x 2 meters.
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