JEAN BRIDGE
Around The Block
JANUARY 4 - JANUARY 28, 2012
OPENING RECEPTION: Sat, January 7 - 2 to 5 p.m.
Recently reviewed by The Globe and Mail, Around The Block is a multi-channel video and audio environment that enacts common realities of the street – where we flow through restricted space with obstructed views. Our ears are more liberated than our eyes.
Around The Block began as a collection of still images and sounds from a typical urban neighborhood. Invariably, most views are blocked and/or framed by fences that demarcate property boundaries, constrain pedestrian movement or enforce security. The audio environment on the other hand is relatively boundless. It delivers open and fluid evidence of what people are saying, doing and experiencing.
The aggregation of images that comprises Around The Block is distilled into a continuum of visually limited space without access. Rendered as three videos projected in series, we see people stroll by – sometimes curious about what lies beyond their view. All the while, the audible experience tempts us with a glimpse into a larger and unseen world.
Taken as a whole, Around The Block forms a dynamic stream of familiar yet idiosyncratic spaces. It reveals much about the texture and syntax of our urban existence while questioning the culture of constant restriction and separation. The work constitutes a virtual place where viewers can reflect on the sensations, knowledge and experience that is both available and unavailable to them.
Jean Bridge is an interdisciplinary artist who works in a wide range of digital and interactive media. Her projects have been exhibited widely in Canada and internationally. Bridge lives in St. Catharines, Ontario, where she teaches new media at Brock University. She is also the founder of nGen, Niagara Interactive Media Generator.
The artist wishes to acknowledge the support of the Ontario Arts Council and the technical assistance of Tracy Van Oosten, Barsin Aghajan, Stu Gritter, Ben Mikuska and Duncan MacDonald
