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Sirenity

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Photographs of Taipei published in Kyoto Journal

This island of Taiwan is under constant threat of annihilation by China. One afternoon air raid sirens went off all over town for almost an hour, to test the Emergency Response System.

All streets were cleared of traffic and pedestrians prevented from walking. Resigned to their fate, they retreated to the shade or air-conditioned shops. Many sat on ledges or the curb and closed their eyes. Stores were commanded to shut down their shopping music and people even stopped talking. Suddenly everything in this noisy city became very quiet and calm except for the wailing of the sirens.

Looking around at the placid faces of my street mates, many with their eyes closed, and at the empty Chung Shan Road, it struck me that this was like a government mandated, mass meditation session.

Taipei '03

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Round the Clock

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Photographs published in Kyoto Journal

These photographs were taken in the Chingmei area of Taipei, Taiwan, approximately every four hours from 6:00 am on Saturday, September 13 to 2:00 am on Sunday 14, 2003. The day was divided into six, four-hour periods: 06:00, 10:00, 14:00, 18:00, 22:00 and 02:00.

A typical weekend day in this area would run something like this:

06:00 shops closed, not much happening; beginning of an unlicensed early morning wet market free-for-all, selling fish, vegetables and household goods.

10:00 Wet market is busy and crowded, but starting to wind down from its 09:00 peak time.

14:00 Siesta time: wet market is gone, people napping after lunch, stores start receiving deliveries.

18:00 Night market starts off slowly, storefronts open, street stalls crowd the public space, people come in for dinner. The air is filled with competing strong aromas from the many food stalls firing-up.

22:00 Night market crowded and rocking on, but actually just past the 21:00 peak time. Movement is slow as people, stalls and merchandise are crowded together, creating total compression and absence of personal space.

02:00 Night market has shut down and public has gone home, but a second life starts on a side street catering to the night market workers, after bar drunks and other stragglers.

After taking these pictures I had "street lag" and needed the entire next day to recover. I've heard that repeatedly disrupting someone's sleep is a form of torture; it wasn't that bad, but my bike ride home on Sunday around 02:30 was pretty wobbly. The project was a lot of fun and it was interesting to see a day cycle through in this way. Each piece of land in this area is really milked for all its worth by multiple users with radically different occupations. In some instances the transformation was so radical that I had trouble finding the same locations only hours later.

Taipei '03

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Puricura Aruto

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Photo-stickers and ink-jet on vinyl photographic enlargements

Ordinary photography of the places I lived was not realistic because I had contrived the angle, framing, focus and lighting. More direct and realistic are the images from the many Print Club photo-sticker machines everywhere - digital cameras on every corner. Simply lifting the background curtain enables the machine to capture an image of its surroundings. Found cameras from the streets of Osaka, Kyoto and Seoul, capturing images of their local areas directly, like a bamboo brush manifesting an image of bamboo. In this way, subject and medium, content and context become one, and my role has become seeing an opportunity, pushing a button, and allowing the subject to express itself, as it is.

When a photo-sticker machine is found situated in front of a mirror, this is a rare opportunity to lift the curtain and allow the machine to photograph itself photographing itself, and create self-portraits of the artist in action showing us how it's done. Subject and medium, artwork and artist, content and context are collapsed into one.

Desiring to complete the series in antisipation of leaving Japan after three years of constant effort led to images of my escaping the machines.

But why even lift the curtain? Emptiness is best expressed with nothing there - no subject. But then the beauty of many empty curtains becomes the subject. One curtain alone says it all: finale.

Kyoto '00

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Globanality

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Souvenirs and photographs mounted on boards

Millions of tourists are continually descending on the many wonders of the world in the massive global migration known as tourism. A gigantic infrastructure has been built up to support what has become the world's largest industry. Built on the premise of enabling closer contact with the world's wonders, this industry now threatens to smother the objects of its desire. One often sees hundreds of cheap simulacra before seeing the real thing.

In fact, hotels, photos and souvenirs - often provided by multinational entities - have become more important to both tourists and locals. This dangerous trans-national phenomenon is aggravated by the processes of "development" and "globalization" which damage local culture in order to provide cultural consumption for the people of rich nations.

The original wonder has been reduced to being in the background, out of focus and obscured by souvenirs.

Globanality Sites & Locations: (as of 11/2000)

• Kaminari Gate Tokyo, Japan
• Ryoanji Zen Garden Kyoto, Japan
• Kingakuji Temple Kyoto, Japan
• Kani Doraku Restaurant Osaka, Japan
• Zuboraya Restaurant Osaka, Japan
• Cui-Daore Restaurant Osaka, Japan
• Osaka Castle Osaka, Japan
• Kofuku-ji Pagoda Nara, Japan
• Todai-ji Great Buddha Nara, Japan
• Mino Waterfall Mino, Japan
• Kaneishi Stone Asuka, Japan
• Sokuram Grotto Gyong-ju, Korea
• Tabo-tap Pagoda Gyong-ju, Korea
• Chomsong-dae Observatory Gyong-ju, Korea
• Wat Po Reclining Buddha Bangkok, Thailand
• Grand Palace Bangkok, Thailand
• Formasa Fortress Melaka, Malaysia
• Keklok-si Pagoda Penang, Malaysia
• Preaching Buddha Sculpture Sarnath, India
• Ashoka Pillar Sarnath, India
• Ganges River Varanasi, India
• Jantar Mantar Observatory Jaipur, India
• Taj Mahal Mausoleum Agra, India
• Erotic Temple Carvings Khajuraho, India
• Gate of India Bombay, India
• C.K.S. Memorial Hall Taipei, Taiwan
• Gin Kan Lou Taipei, Taiwan

Kyoto '00

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Mickey Bosatsu

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Found souvenir photograph

Miroku Bosatsu - the Contemplative Bodhisattva of the Future. He's found everywhere - predating Rodin's Thinker by millenia - but the most beautiful are found in Seoul, Kyoto and Nara. The one at Horyu-ji in Nara attracted me, so I went to sit with him on two occasions, maintaining a proper meditation posture with eyes slightly downcast. But every now and then would look up and laugh because the black chingon balls (an ancient hairstyle) and hairline look just like Mickey Mouse ears!

He is contemplating how to reduce suffering in this world, a pretty heavy subject - but is smiling, suggesting that he has the answer and everything will be all right. What does he know? Could the forces of mass media entertainment and consumerism be applied to reduce world suffering? A Buddhist Disneyland perhaps?

Osaka '98

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Water & Electricity

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Photographic prints suspended from horizontal cables

Ebisu Bridge crossing the Dotonbori River is the absolute epicentre of downtown Osaka. An atmosphere of transience and impermanence is generated by the flowing river, with the Dotonbori family entertainment area on one side, and the Soemoncho adult night life area on the other. Ebisubashi Street shopping arcade intersects the Dotonbori River at this bridge. Untold thousands of people converge at this point night and day.

Down below, the dirty river glows with distorted reflections of the multi-storied neon advertising impacted buildings. These images - unconsciously experienced by millions - express the state of flux and illusion at an intersection between the transience of entertainment and the emptiness of consumerism.

Osaka '98

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The Well & The Hearth

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Excavated Hindi movie posters

The creative force: to draw from the deep, pure, cold waters of our original soul and bring it to a boil under the roaring fire of everyday existence. Earth, Water, Fire and Air.

Seoul '97

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Seoul Subway Shopping

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Commercial objects suspended in front of Seoul subway map

The Seoul subway is an enormous network that connects hundreds of towns and neighbourhoods. Passengers travelling underground have little visual connection to the urban areas passing overhead. Time and space are neutralized.

Hawkers target the subway system to sell their inexpensive wares to the captive audience on the train cars. By buying an object on the subway I am purchasing a souvenir of the area passing overhead. Time and space are fixed in the souvenirs, which are then attached to a Seoul subway linemap in their respective locations.

Seoul '97

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Corporate Korea

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Korean flag, Korea Airlines ticket envelope and Pepsi Cola label

The spiritual symbol of the Korean people is being manipulated for commercial purposes. Pepsi recently changed their famous logo in a move known as "Project Blue". It was changed worldwide except in Korea. Is Pepsi the National Drink of Korea? Are bar codes becoming modern trigrams? Could this represent a harmony between spiritual and corporate ideals, or a co-opting of ancient power?

Seoul '97

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Pond Paintings

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Gold and silver acrylic on multi-layered commercial proof prints

Pond surface in rain

Above float the fish

Below grow the trees

Which is Heaven or Earth?

Layers of mechanical commercial imagery as the muck at the bottom of the pond - human existence. Silver surface as the reflection of the sky and Heaven. Water drop ripples blur the boundary. Looking at fish I see myself stuck between Heaven and Earth. A resolution in water drop ripples. Heaven & Earth resolved.

Seoul '97

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Equator Art Experiment

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Framed photographs of performance and equipment in kit box

North of the Equator, water flows down a drain counter-clockwise. South of the Equator it flows down clockwise. Doctor Cho and Professor Owen devised an experiment to determine which direction water would flow when directly upon the Equator. They went to conduct their experiment in the remote village of Bongol in central Sumatra Indonesia, which had a large concrete globe and triangular platform directly on the Equator that was an ideal location to conduct their experiment.

In the 45 degree heat of the Equator at high noon, history was made. The initial results of the experiment were astounding. At first the water did not flow down at all. Later trials showed that the water did not flow counter-clockwise nor clockwise, but rather straight down. The final results are inconclusive as the data is still being analyzed.

Penang '97

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Penang Waterfall Scrolls

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Ink on rice paper & acrylic on Malaysia Telecom poster

The natural beauty of Penang Malaysia is under attack by rapid development. Ink on paper painting expresses the life force of nature. Dark lines on a white void. How to express the chaos of change? The negative of Oriental painting - bright areas negating underlying complex commercial imagery?

Penang '96

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Movie Poster Excavations

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Excavations into layers of found Korean and Indian movie posters

Excavating into the image rich layers of movie posters found on the streets of urban Korea and India. Using a knife to carefully cut into and strip away the pre-existing layers. Nothing is added, only removed, the artwork is created by a subtractive process. Excavating into the layers of found posters involves mystery and chance, as it is uncertain what will be discovered.

As with archaeology, the process of excavation is an exploration for hidden treasures: revealing the various strata representing time and the history of the locations they were found, revealing the many images found in the under layers, revealing my feelings and impressions of that time and place, and revealing images from deep within my body and psyche.

Udaipur '96

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Scent Advertisement Book

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Collected and bound magazine perfume advertisements

I have been developing this Scent Advertisement Book since 1990 and it was finally completed in December 1994. More than 100 examples of the beginning of this genre have been collected.

This book was created because I was intrigued by the idea of magazine scent advertisements, being attracted by their evocative names, their sexy photographic style and the inclusion of scent strips. After some study I realized some of the effect of this type of advertising and the implications for the future of scent advertising.

It is well known that there is a strong connection between memory, emotion and the sense of smell. The recent crop of designer perfumes are concoctions of flower and spice, fruit and chemical essences produced to engage more of our senses and memories in the designer experience. Producers and advertisers now have a strong new tool to manipulate our behaviour.

A quick look into the future shows me a world where very sophisticated behaviour modification technology using scents and hormones will be able to specifically target and manipulate key memories and emotions in the consumer public.

Hormones which trigger fear, excitement, peace and satiety in people will be used to sell cars, fashion, furniture and food. McDonald's will use the smell of a Big Mac, Fries and Coke to sell its products.

I foresee a world where the smell of leather and grease are used to sell Harley Davidson motorcycles; the smell of locker room sweat to sell Nike running shoes and the smell of chocolate and roses are used to sell diamonds.

Toronto '95

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Echoes

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Pairs of natural and synthetic materials mounted on ceramic tiles

Echoes is an art installation comprised of a set of more than forty, 25 centimetre square by one centimetre thick ceramic tiles. They are mounted on a wall in a 5 x 8 grid arrangement with three 5 centimetre spaces between the tiles. On each tile is a pair of materials side by side, on the left side is a natural material, on the right side is its synthetic analogue. Each one of the tiles compares a different pair of materials: thorn and barbed wire; cork and styrofoam; burdock and velcro; etc.

A strict set of criteria is applied to determine the pairs of materials suitable for inclusion in the set. One is that the material and its echo be of a sturdy composition that will last in situ for many years, if not permanently. Another is that the materials included in the pair are of the same relative size, which may be achieved by breaking off a sample from a larger piece or by the building up of a sample from smaller pieces. Another criterion is that the natural material must have had or represent some use for people long ago.

The work is mounted on ceramic tiles because of their permanence and high strength adhesives are used to hold the materials vertically to the tiles. Some of the more delicate natural materials have been treated to preserve them. Every attempt has been made to make this a permanent collection. It can be considered as a historical document, a time (rhyme) capsule.

This work shows the natural origins of many of our inventions and how we have not really improved on Nature. In many respects synthetic materials are actually dangerous. People's reaction to this work is amusing and enlightening. Most people are familiar with the synthetic and are often perplexed by the natural. This suggests that one of the dangers of our relentless simulation of nature is that the prevalence of synthetics alters our perception of and relation to the natural world.

Some may suggest that by simulating nature, we defer the need to harvest the living and in this way are helping to preserve nature. Fake fur = saved lives. This view ignores the ecological consequences of manufacturing, marketing and disposing of synthetic materials and also overlooks the distortion of our relation with nature. Rather than preserving nature, the production of simulacra perpetuates our degradation of the natural world.

The meta-structure of the installation is a partial resolution of the two sides as they have been brought together in the same work. But this creates more questions than answers. Some links are provided but the resolution is left ambiguous so that the viewer is engaged to create a synthesis in their imagination.

The work is quite large and generates a lot of interaction with viewers. They must move about to view it all and there is a lot of finger pointing. People often laugh at the absurdity of some of the simulacra and at the incongruous juxtaposition of materials. It is fun for people to try and guess what the various materials are, either by deducing the origin of the synthetic or by extrapolating the synthetic from the natural. In this way the Echoes installation is a useful learning exhibit that I hope to display in an public educational context such as a natural history museum.

Toronto, 1/94

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@rtomatic

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Art produce vending system dispensing artwork multiples

@rtomatic is an automated art gallery and robotic art dealer. It was created by converting a new electronic snack vending machine to dispense small artworks. Artists have been solicited to create small multiple artworks for display and distribution through @rtomatic, and it can contain twelve different artworks with fifteen multiples of each at any one time. The artworks are priced in a range of between $2 and $10 and can be purchased directly by an art consumer using the digital selector and dollar coins.

@rtomatic displays and dispenses a diverse collection of artworks in a wide range of media, including: literature, poetry, bookworks, prints, painting, sculpture, music, fashion and jewellery. The goal is to establish a network of @rtomatic galleries around the world where they will display and distribute artworks created by the local creative communities as well as popular artwork from other countries.

@rtomatic was created to smash down the elitist ivory-tower of the fine art world and to act as a direct link between artists and art lovers. @rtomatic delivers artwork to the masses. You don't have to know much about art, just what you like, and the robot art dealer does the rest. From gallery to hand with no fuss, and affordable too! ©onsume®s say ¥£$!

Artworks that have been exhibited and sold through @rtomatic:

• Plastic fetish objects "Mr. Funnelpaint" by Tony Hamilton.
• Art bookworks "Heart Thing" by Erella Vent.
• Four colour wood block prints "Self Portrait" by Matt Harley.
• Cut and fold paper sculptures "Zamix 3-D" by Rene Zamic.
• Audio cassettes "Big Fish, Small Pond" by the Look People.
• Audio cassettes "Solo Po-mo a Go-go" by Kurt Swinghammer.
• Audio cassettes "Love to Play" by The Lost Dakotas.
• Small bottles of liquid "Napotion" by Napoleon Brousseau.
• Printing stamps "Rubber/Stamp" by Doug Guildford.
• Laboratory scraps "Discontinued Stock" by Laura Kikauka and Gordon Monahan of Funny Farm Laboratories.
• Computer game diskettes "Silly Stack" by Steev Morgan.
• Compilations of text art "Fly" by Helen Orr.
• Candy wrapped condoms "Bon Bon Condom" by Melanie Coates.
• Printed headbands "Happening Headbands" by Kingi Carpenter of Peach Berserk Cocktails.
• Wearable amulets "Kewpie Khrist" and "Mystic Medallion" by Fiona Smyth.
• Packaged artist "Self Product-Shelf Portrait" by Jamie Osborne.
• Art bookworks "Texture Book" by Andrew Owen.

Toronto, 9/90

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Processpraintings

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Process colour acrylic paint on paper and wood panels

Processprainting is a contraction of the words: process spray painting. It is a painting technique developed to reveal the nature of colours and demystify their interaction.

Processprainting is a method we have developed which utilizes process colours in a spray painting technique. Processprainting uses an enlarged colour separation dot screen through which the colours are sprayed. The large dots allow the viewer to see the interaction of the process primary colours. For example, the colour green seen from a distance, is upon closer inspection, composed from the interaction of yellow and cyan dots.

The Process Colour System is commonly used by the printing industry to reproduce full colour imagery. This industry has developed methods of reducing any coloured image into its three separate subtractive primary sub-images in a process known as colour separation. The multitudes of colour are then created by printing each colour separation in succession, via a matrix of variable sized dot screens. The dot size variations and juxtaposition of the primary colour dots in relation to each other resolve to create the various colours of an image. These colour separation dot patterns can be observed in any printed colour image with the use of a magnifying glass.

In process printing, the dot matrix spacing remains constant and the dot size enlarges or decreases, thereby varying the amount and the intensity of a particular colour. In processprainting, the dot matrix spacing also remains constant but so does the dot size. It is the intensity or amount of colour per dot area that varies.

In process colour printing the orientation and alignment of the dot screen matrix for each of the four colours is rotated in relation to the others to prevent the individual dot screen patterns from interfering with each other when overlaid. If the orientation of the dot screen matrix of the first colour, yellow for example, is horizontal, then that of the next colour, magenta, is rotated about seventeen degrees to that of the horizontal yellow matrix. The matrix orientation of the next two colours is each rotated about seventeen degrees in relation to the others. Processprainting also incorporates dot screen matrix rotation, but unlike the fine matrix in printing, the large scale of processprainting explicitly reveals this process.

Processprainting is a painting technique which mimics the techniques of process colour mechanical printing, and a human painter must act according to mechanical principles. This technique may seem similar to the work of Roy Lichtenstein who also incorporated a dot screen pattern in his paintings. His technique also used a fixed size dot matrix, but the intensity of the coloured dots did not vary. Also, he did not overlay different colours to produce admixtures. He employed a rather simple system similar to that used in comic books called a Ben Day Pattern. That being said, Mr. Lichenstein's work has been a great inspiration for our work.

Processprainting is distinguished by: the use of subtractive process primary colours; a fixed dot size but variable dot intensity; the successive overlaying of the four process colours, and dot matrix screen rotation leading to the successful creation of rosette pattern colour dot clusters.

Toronto, 9/87