Liberty of the Screen, 2014
An ephemeral art event installed November 23, 2014 at Malahang Reserve with 10 volunteers. The corner of Oriel and Southern roads, Heidelberg West. Commissioned by Banyule City Council as part of Pinpoint arts initiative.
For this art intervention, I sought to appropriate the energy of Christo and create a similar kind of wrap at Malahang Reserve. Inviting children and families to access the playground through screens and also provide feedback about their engagement. I seek to explore the relationship between screen culture (TV’s, ipads, smartphones and film) and the culture of masking potential risks in public space. I wonder, will the observation of play (carried out by children and families) be altered by this fabric screen? And how will a temporary blocking of the playground affect our reading of the site? Does the aesthetics of this site hold meaning for the participants? What alternate cultures exist there? What expectations do we have around play and observing it? Does this screen alter our perceptions of what is going on? How does observing relate to screening children’s play online? Does the screen serve a function to make us alert? Do we block certain kinds of play, if so, which? What is happening when we don’t observe? What pleasures, joys, focus is happening when children are not supervised?
