G.O.T.C.H.A (Gathering Ordinary Telephotos and Capturing Hidden Attitudes)
Faisal Anwar, G.O.T.C.H.A installation view, 2006, new media installation.
30 September, 2006, 7:01 pm until sunrise
401 Richmond St. W., Toronto - South hallway
Scotiabank nuit blanche: a free all-night contemporary art thing
What makes us "ethnic"? What defines our ethnicity? Who defines it? And why define it? What makes me a South Asian? What makes me a Muslim? We make assumptions and definitions and live in a fear of being judgmental or being judged, being identified or being victimized as are constantly under surveillance, being taped and watched. Our daily lives are filled with a constant barrage of visual information expelled from ever-changing technology and devices.
SAVAC (South Asian Visual Arts Collective) presents "g.o.t.c.h.a" {Gathering Ordinary Telephotos and Capturing Hidden Attitudes}. A real-time site specific new media installation created over a span of 12 hours. Artists and audiences attending Nuit Blanche are welcomed to participate in this surveillance project. You can take photographs discreetly or overtly of people you identify as "ethnic" based on your own perception and interpretation. Participants are asked to use their cell phones to capture faces, by using a pop-mail server technology. These photos will be used to create a real-time projection in 401 Richmond.
How you can also participate:
- Use your camera cell phone
- Take a picture based on your interpretation of the concept
- Send a picture message in (you can send as many pictures as you want)
- View the real-time installation
Faisal Anwar (Toronto) is New Media artist with a diverse background in theatre, experimental puppets, Media arts and Graphic Design. A graduate of the Canadian Film Centre's Habitat-LAB, Interactive Arts and Entertainment Programme, he Co- founded "into it!" and Action Pact designs. Into it! Is an interactive Installation, creating an immersive experience from animal's perspective for kids. Faisal currently serves on the Programming Committee of SAVAC and teaches at Centennial College.
