BOTANICA - 2022
The Brief - About Botanica Festival
The Botanica festival is a public art festival hosted within the Brisbane city botanic gardens, and has been runnings since 2018. Our task is to create an artwork proposal for the 2022 festival outlining a rationale, creating visualisations of the proposed work, technical details of the work and presenting our proposal to Lubi Thomas, the Senior Public Art Officer for Brisbane City Council.
Botanica aims to offer site-specific work representing a deep connection to the place and providing meaningful cultural interaction and experience. The festival seeks to foster and embrace the practice of temporal public art. This is done through providing an inclusive event platform, interrogated within an accessible public realm and open space filled with meaningful and site-responsive installations which are potentially provocative with profound ideas. Botanica is predominately an evening festival, running for 10 evenings from 5-10pm, thus the artwork has to be robust enough to last and also become activated at night. Botanica is based in contemporary art, and encourages experimentation and an open-ended approach, though also has to be engaging enough for the general public. The target audience includes children, families, adults, groups and general public with an interest for experience. A fewer number of people in the audience are interested in the art world and are active gallery-goers, so the work has to reflect this by being engaging to any viewer, though can have deeper conceptual meaning for those interested in it. As the botanic gardens are public thoroughfare, there is not way to know exactly how many people will be present for the festival, although from looking at previous years, it has usually been thousands of people. The artwork has to withstand this amount of people interacting with the work, as well as the outdoor elements. The budget for the proposed artwork's expenses is $5,000.
My Role
I was working within a group of 3, which was chosen based off our general conceptual interests. As all group members were within the visual arts field, we worked as collaborative artists. Rather than setting rigid roles, we delegated work equally based off our creative strengths and ensured all of our voices were heard by not creating a hierarchy and having continuous weekly meetings to express our thoughts on the project and share new ideas and progress updates.
Initially, we all brainstormed ideas together until we found a concept we all agreed on to explore further. Once we began working towards our concept, we started to delegate work, with myself being responsible for researching the technology needed and the set up for it as well as researching the context around our concept to create a deeper and more relevant work by linking to contemporary art theory and current discussions on surveillance.
Since we worked in an open and experimental way, as our concept shifted and developed further, our delegated work also changed. I was responsible for creating the visualisations of the monitor sculpture using Adobe Dimension and Photoshop, while still researching the necessary technology and creating diagrams of the set up and assembly of the work. I also helped to create our physical mock-up model by casting a cardboard mould in concrete and fiberglass. The written elements of our proposal were split into sections for each group member to work on, with myself writing the description and rationale.
Final Work
Our final proposed work is titled Forecast, and is a site-responsive installation work, merging sculptural elements with digital technology. The work features a concrete monument of a CRT monitor which displays live camera feeds that have been placed around the gardens. The screen transitions between four cameras; three which are situated in areas of high pedestrian activity, while one is positioned toward the viewer standing at the monitor. The monitor will be placed within the bamboo forest section of the garden to be slightly hidden from view, allowing viewers to stumble across the screen and realise the cameras around the garden are displaying the live footage on the screen. The cameras are placed at eye-level around the garden and sit in concrete constructions to mirror the shape of the concrete CRT monitor. The work is participatory in that the audience completes the artwork, since the conceptual meaning is formed through viewers finding the screen, as well as having an audience to be captured by the cameras.
Visualisations
I created our final artwork visualisations of the monitor sculpture to give an accurate representation of our concept. These were created using a royalty free 3D model of a CRT monitor from Sketchfab (https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/crt-monitor-e33a8054562b4f959e4e1cd222b9032e) which I then imported into Adobe Dimensions. From there, I added the plinth, lighting, textures and a background to create a close representation of what the final work will look like at the Botanica festival. I superimposed an image on the screen of how the camera footage will appear by using Adobe Photoshop. I also added a person for scale comparison in Photoshop. Another team member created visualisations of the camera sculptures using Blender and Photoshop to place them in our chosen locations, which were photos that we took while on site.
I helped to create the scaled down model of our concrete monitor shell by using a cardboard mould made by a team member. I casted the mould using concrete bulked up with fiberglass to add extra strength, since concrete can become brittle when it is so thin. I also layered fiberglass to the inside of the hollow mould to strengthen the shell even more. Once I demoulded the cast, I used PVA glue on the inside of the mould to stick down any stray fiberglass strands. This mock-up model was designed to fit an iPad inside it to act as our 'screen', although a proper monitor will be used in the final work. The mould will also instead be created from using plaster bandages on an old CRT monitor to capture all of the details while also being a sturdier mould for the concrete.
As I was in charge of researching the technical equipment needed, I developed diagrams to present how the electronics would need to be connected in order to work as planned, as well as showing the assembly of the concrete sculptures.
There will be a screen sitting inside of the concrete shell, which is connected to the 4 remote cameras via PoE (power over ethernet). The cameras are connected to an NVR box via data cables, and the NVR box is connected to the screen via HDMI or DP cable to display the live feed footage.
The main production method for our project is creating the structures that hold the cameras and monitor. These structures are created using two different casting techniques. The first is making a plaster mould of the monitor which will allow us to re-create the exact shape and size to allow for precise details within the cast. This means we must allow time to source a second-hand CRT monitor. This monitor does not have to work as we are only using it to create a mould. The plaster mould will have to be done in two parts, separating the back and front from each other to allow us to place electronics inside the monitor shell cast. The second method is for the plinths and camera boxes, where we will create wooden casts using sheets of plywood. We chose the wooden mould because of the geometric design which is easiest to create using flat and hard materials such as wood. Concrete will then be poured into the moulds while manipulating the concrete to make a hollow cast, while fiberglass is layered and impregnated within the concrete to increase the structural integrity while simultaneously reducing excess weight. Once the concrete structures have cured and any issues fixed, mounting measures will be added. Brackets will be placed into the structure once the concrete has dried, and will be used as anchor points for the pieces to connect. Bolts will then be placed through the structure and bracket pieces to hold everything together securely. The bolt heads will also be covered with concrete to match the aesthetic of the work. Securing the concrete structures together like this will reduce the risk of the monitor falling off the stand. When all the works are fully cured and have the secure mounts to attach each piece to each other they can then be moved to the Brisbane Botanical Gardens where the electronics will be placed within their housings and set up for a test for trouble shooting any issues before the event.
Rationale
The work responds to the 24-hour surveillance already present within the gardens, as well as many other public spaces. Surveillance is a highly relevant issue, which affects everyone to some degree – both in physical and online spaces. Growing concerns of personal privacy have been elevated since the conception of cyberspace and are ever-present now with data sourcing from companies and new laws implemented in Australia. As cited by an article from The Conversation: “Under the Identify and Disrupt Bill, access can be gained to encrypted data which could be copied, deleted, modified, and analyzed even before its relevance can be determined. This significantly compromises users’ privacy and digital rights”. By making the sculpture into the shape of a CRT monitor, it references the beginning of online accessibility, leaving the audience with the question of how far surveillance has come and where it could possibly lead to.
Taking from Jane Rendell’s writing in Space, Place and Site in Critical Spatial Arts Practice, we are constructing our artwork around the concept that site is more than the place of the work in relation to geometry, performance, or ethnography – rather, sites are defined by cultural and spatial practices that produce them. Spatial practices involve the site’s physical attributes and how it is constructed and regulated, while cultural practices refer to what activities take place within the space and how we traverse them. Both practices are relational, as they influence and are influenced by each other. As the botanic gardens are already under 24-hour CCTV, this determines how we traverse across the gardens, what we use the spaces for and how long we should spend our time there. Forecast responds to this invisible design and monitoring of the space by making the cultural effects more visible and overt. This is done through transforming our security cameras into sculptural monuments which sit at eye level and in plain sight, although viewers will be unaware of where the footage is being displayed to. This is only revealed once viewers stumble across the concrete monitor hidden amongst the bamboo forest while exploring Botanica.
In Lars Bang Larsen’s chapter, Social Aesthetics, in Claire Bishop’s Participation, Larsen dissects the term ‘social aesthetics.’ Larsen explains that the untenable dichotomy between art versus reality is delusional and harmful to see in opposition to each other as art is part of reality. Forecast aligns with this view as our work utilizes surveillance to reveal the social structures in our everyday lives but is amplified through artistic aesthetic.
Forecast aims to be a relevant work by responding to the botanic gardens but also being applicable to the wider scope of surveillance in everyday life. The work has a cold and dystopian aesthetic to it by using concrete monuments to disrupt the lively garden space, as it aims to elicit an uncomfortable and uncertain affect from the viewers by unravelling the invisible control within public space. The work relates to Botanica’s brief by being a temporary site-responsive work that engages audiences with interactivity and provocative concepts.
Project Development
First Iteration
Our initial concept was to have 3 to 4 remote cameras set up in high traffic areas of the garden which connected to a projector to display the live feed. The display was intended to flick between each camera every 30 seconds to maintain viewer's attention while preventing someone trying to commit an unsavoury act on camera. The projection was planned to be displayed at the main garden entrance near where food trucks are usually situated, and would be one of the first artworks they see. This would then make the audience aware that there are cameras in the gardens, although not told exactly where. By projecting it away from where the cameras are situated, it also creates a sense of displacement. The cameras were to have a physical filter on them by using coloured perspex, cellophane or painted perspex to further distort the image with layers of colour. This correlated to the complexities of surveillance and data collection as we do not have a clear answer or single entity to blame. The areas which were chosen include: the playground, an undercover gazebo area, the main footpath along the river and another gazebo area where the public toilets are situated. For the gazebo areas, we wanted to construct an inviting space by building pallet furniture with blankets covering them. This initially would make them appear comfortable, but as viewers sit on them they realise it is hard pallets and are actually uncomfortable to sit for a long period of time. This would refer to how hostile architecture determines how we use spaces, and would also keep a continuous flow of people. We were also wanting perspex plaques placed near where our cameras would be recording to make the audience aware that they are being filmed through a live feed, but written similar to a user agreement which people accept without actually reading.
Mock-up of projection onto ground of botanic gardens entrance
Locations of cameras and projector on map
Mock-up of signs
Mock-up of pallet furniture
Initial camera locations
Experimentation with physical camera filters
Feedback and Changes
We presented our first iteration of our concept to the Senior Public Art Officer for Brisbane City Council, who gave us valuable feedback. As our concept tried to involve both big discussions of surveillance and hostile architecture, we could not delve into those concepts more deeply, thus we were told to only pick one discussion to build our work around. We were told that surveillance is a stronger theme as it affects everyone, whereas hostile furniture affects mostly the homeless population which is a harder discussion to engage privileged people in since the main audience for Botanica is privileged families. We also were told that our location for the projection was unfeasable as they cannot risk blocking up the entrance way for the botanic gardens with audiences stopping to look at artwork, so we would have to choose a different area for it. It was suggested that we could possibly have the projection in a subtle place to add to the idea of hidden activity, as the experience of the work then backs up concepts behind the work. Our distortion of the camera lens with paint was also questioned, as security footage is already hard to see, especially at night. We also don't have to worry about hiding anyone's identity for privacy as people have already signed up to being surveilled by entering the botanic gardens, since they are already under 24 hour CCTV. We were told our artwork's linking to art theory was strong and that we should continue to use that theory.
We took all of that feedback on board, and decided to only focus on the theme of surveillance in public spaces. Since we did not need to alter the camera footage through physical lenses, we thought it was too basic to purely project the direct live feed on the ground, so we brainstormed what art objects we could make to add to our concept. Through this we developed ideas on a sculptural structure to display the live feed in, as well as making some to house the cameras in to link the elements together. We wanted a cold and dystopian feel to the structures so we opted for concrete blocks, and for the displayed video we chose a CRT monitor design as it is a symbol of the beginnings of cyberspace and digital surveillance. We also chose a different location for where the live feed will be displayed, which was the bamboo forest area of the gardens as they are slightly more hidden. We also reworked our camera positions slightly, by making them sit around eye-level to capture people's faces rather than an extreme top-down view of typical security footage.