Analogue is the new Digital - Project Abstract

[Jo Mills]

The piece of work which I am submitting was initially created as part of my final project for my MA in Fine Art.  It is a projection-based installation incorporating digital photographs of fresh flowers projected onto a sea of drying and decaying blooms into a space which the spectator can explore and interact with.  The installation incorporated a prototype of a motion-based software program which would change the image according to the movement within the space.  The mechanics of this were unobtrusive, so as not to be noticed too much by the spectator who was invited to immerse themselves in the world which I had created. 

I used sound to further enhance the experience of the installation, using lots of fabric within the space to muffle any sounds, and keep the space warmer and more comforting than simply a bare, empty space.  I also used white noise, intended as an almost imperceptible soundscape to further enhance the mood. 

I have developed this work into a short film which documents the movement within the space and the transition of images within the installation.  This film was shot using a cameraphone, echoing the accessibility of the work by employing technology which most people carry on their person. 

I have also used the film as a basis for a further immersive installation, where elements of the work, photographs of flowers, material and fresh flowers decaying over the duration of the installation extend the content of the film into the physical space and invite the spectator to explore the new environment. 

This work addresses the questions of analogue representation of the digital and vice versa through rebuilding/reflecting the digital with analogue means in repeated and varying ways; digital construction as analogue output and how it can be returned to digital material; flow and transit within both the original and subsequent spaces; and the digital captured in low-tech aesthetics through the choice of recording equipment and props used in the work.