Virtual Frontier vf0.5 Expedition 2

Videoinstallation, technofiction 2002

13/6/2002; 3:47h MEZ: The HASA-Crew perceives signals indicating the existence of a virtual frontier. Preceding the reception of the signal rumours of its existence were fed by the detection of parallels to the idea of the 'Zone' described in the film 'Stalker' by Andrej Tarkovski and in the book 'Roadside Picnic ' by Arkadi and Boris Strugatzki. After 34 days in the lab the HASA-Space crew proved the existence of the virtual frontier and published its findings.

'Virtual Frontier vf0.5 Expedition 2' at the Dialog festival in Winterthur 2002

The outlined Zone provides one with the possibility to interact with the interface on the boundary emulated by the laser. In its presence and because there is a possibility to enter and interact with it, it transmits a fascination similar to the zone described in the book/film.
An account of how the imaginary relation of the HASA-Crew was piloted/displaced into a perceivable one and the emergence of the digital navigable fiction in the HASA-Laboratories was continuously documented in a "logbook" during the whole 'Virtual Frontier vf0.5 Expedition 2'.

[vfe emulator & video]

selfmade laserprisma

'Virtual Frontier vf0.5 Expedition 2' at the Mediacampus Zürich 2003

[Data]

A documentation of the project can be found here and further images of the installation here (zip|6.6 Mb)

[Presented at]

Dancetheatre "Blanche", Roxy Tanztheater, Basel, CH, 2008 & 'neue Bühne', Villach, Österreich, 2008

Resfest Tony Molkerei, Zürich, Switzerland, 2006

Dialog Festival Winterthur, Switzerland, 2002

[Technology]

Hardware: Computer; Webcam; Beamer; selfmade laserprisma

Software: GNU/Linux http://www.debian.org/; modified ripple effect from Kentarou Fukuchis Effectv project http://effectv.sourceforge.net/

Mille thanks to Kentarou Fukuchi for his transcontinental support and his ingenious effecttv-project!