Fri, 07 Mar 2008 12:00am

Artist's Statement | Sean Clark @ Phoenix Digital

seanclark@gmail.com
www.cuttlefish.org

Artist’s Statement

My creative practice is concerned with the creation of digital ‘art-systems’ that explore the relationships between the viewer, the viewed and their environment. I refer to my artworks as ‘art-systems’ since it is the very interaction with them that forms the central structure the work. They are ‘digital’ because I predominantly use digital technology to create my work.

When interacting with my artwork the viewer/participant becomes a integral part of it. They forever change the piece and ensure that it remains in constant motion. In some cases, such as with the pieces Anonymising Webcam and We Are Not Alone, images of the viewer are the sole visual-aesthetic elements of the artwork, with my role as the artist being to create an environment (through the use of digital technology) that allows this visual-aesthetic element to emerge through the interactions of the participants.

In other artworks, such as with ArtScanner, the viewer plays an active part in entering material into the system and facilitating the flow of material between devices and locations. Again, as an artist I have created a system that supports a range of interactions that result in a physical artwork (the environment surrounding the ArtScanner ‘pod’) being created by the viewer/participants.

While engaging with my work I would encourage you to consider the processes you are involved in, and not to simply concentrate on the visual-aesthetic aspects of a piece. Consider how the images on screen arrived at their destination, and how your interaction changes them.

Anonymising Webcam

Most security systems aim to identify us. The Anonymising Webcam attempts to conceal the identity of the people on the screen, whilst simultaneously demonstrating the sophisticated face tracking capabilities of surveillance systems.

We Are Not Alone

We Are Not Alone creates a physical space in which prior interactions can be brought back to the present. The image on the screen is a composite of past and present and reminds us that the past is always with us, not just in our personal memories, but increasingly through the technologies we use. Security cameras, cash machines, search engines and mobile phones can all be used to record our movements and interactions and we are rapidly moving towards a world where everything we do will be recorded in some form.

ArtScanner

ArtScanner allows people to upload images to a Web site and have them displayed in a gallery or exhibition space via the scanning of barcodes. The barcode acts as a gateway between the physical world and the world of computers. Seemingly innocuous, to some they symbolise a world where everything is categorised and our every move is ‘blipped’.

Author: Sean Clark