Over-Mine attempts to convey human impact on the environment through interactive projection-mapping onto hand‐fabricated objects. In its default state, it is a projection of abstract open-cut mines, with four different scenes available. Through interaction, the audience actively restores the landscape; covering barren land with hand-drawn plants and 18th century botanical pictures. After a short time the plants fade; to maintain the green landscape the audience must continue to control the artwork, though the act is inevitably futile. The work challenges the audience to remain in front of the piece and work in order to achieve environmental harmony.
While the plants may be the main point of interest, each barren land isn’t just a static image – parts slowly move and shift around in order to induce a feeling of motion sickness or confusion if stared at. Little friends – the emaciated dingoes – stagger and flail about the land, pushed by the wind and desperate for food and shelter. Small black willy-willys of twirling muck whir around. Mine trucks stumble up and down driveways. And, if you look closely, hundreds of images of the word ‘DIG’, in almost transparent red, flicker across the landscape like rising red fire.
20 blue buttons and 4 green buttons are nestled in a large white control box in front of the work. Each blue button is attached to a series of plants that will grow when pressed. Each green button selects a new scene of different barren land, and different plants. There is no order in which the buttons need to be pressed, and as such no instruction is needed – audiences are invited to explore for themselves. To completely cover the barren land, the audience can press all the buttons at once – button mashing is invited! This set up is practically unbreakable. To have a closer look at the interactive elements, see this video:
Made from 150 hand-drawn and remixed images coded into an interactive artwork, and inputted into projection mapping software. After researching, I believe that the particular combination of programs and set up that I use is unprecedented, most definitely in my community, but possibly globally as well. This is very experimental and thus I thank the gallery for trusting me.
Cutting and nailing together of the box was outsourced during production. Visual art, coding, interactive elements, drilling of control box, wiring of buttons, fabrication of wall hangings, painting, install, etc, done by me.
This artwork debuted as a commission for Ipswich Regional Art Gallery, Queensland.
Challenges:
- Colour differences between screen and projection (for some reason this projector made the colours very different and this was not fixable).
- Working in a regional gallery setting with limited access to technology.
- Creating a work that can be easily and safely displayed every day for 2.5 months with no set up or shut down.
- Creating something unbreakable with regards to 2.5 months of both adult and child use.
- Large distances between wall, computer, and projector.
- As far as I am aware, creating an unprecedented software and hardware combination.