Pulse Interval

Artists: Farheen Haq (Victoria), Azin Seraj (Oakland), Andrew Forster (Montreal) and Jamie Drouin (Victoria)

Date: July 23 to August 14, 2010

Artists Talk: July 24, 2010, 2 p.m.

MediaNet and Open Space collaborated to present Pulse Interval, a media arts exhibition that featured work by Jamie Drouin (Victoria), Andrew Forster (Montreal), Farheen Haq (Victoria) and Azin Seraj (Oakland).

The curators adapted the term 'pulse interval,' a gap or interval between regular or intermittent signal waveforms such as the sounds made by bats as they navigate the night sky. The curators proposed that "technology and human movement act as navigational aides in forming an interiorized local knowledge of place or identity. The artists in this exhibition investigate the nuances of how we mobillize habits of movement, technology, and data to navigate and inhabit our geographic, psychosocial and political locales."

Sound artist Jamie Drouin’s work HUM investigated the ubiquitous hydro power grid boxes situated in every neighbourhood, and the ever-present sounds they introduce into the environment, creating artificial undertones to our experience of the outdoors. Presented as two ominous walls of audio speakers Drouin created a seductive installation that drew the audience into an unexpected relationship with sounds that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.

Andrew Forster’s video projection Duet, a pas de deux, was choreographed from media footage of the gestures of teenaged suicide bomber Hassam Abdo as he was diffused by Israeli police. The work explored the tension present in such an intimate action and gave poetic context for the audience to experience the movements and gestures visceral affect.

Farheen Haq's artistic practice investigates the body as a site of stuggle and performance as a way to activate space. Endless Tether, an intimate gesture between two people, expanded to the scale of landscape. The simple exchange of cloth was wrought with political, sensual and meditative qualities. The three channel video work spanned the long wall of the gallery and immersed viewers in the flow of the fabric across the screens.

Azin Seraj’s installation contact was a voyeuristic  look at the moments of tension that resulted from capturing passersby with the camera. Curious glances turned to uncanny stares as strangers turned to look at the camera - hypnotic, intimate moments with people we will probably never see again. contact was projected in Commercial Alley, near Bastion Square, from 8:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. every evening. This aspect of the work engaged a public audience outside the gallery and helped to foster an ongoing relationship with otehr businesses in the downtown core. Seraj also spent time in Victoria prior to the exhibition as part of a production residency hosted by Open Space.
 

http://www.farheenhaq.com/

http://www.reluctant.ca/index3.html

http://www.jamiedrouin.com/

http://www.yayahstudios.com/hubbubweb/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23&Itemid=53