Wait, 2011, interactive video installation

The objective of Wait is to create an moment of recognition as the observer/viewer interacts with the representation of the animal. Methods of interactivity are examined through the use of video and an activated space. As a visitor enters the space, a video is automatically triggered from an archive of recorded video clips and is projected within the space. The video shows a dog walking toward the visitor. If the visitor continues to stand in position, the dog will sit and ‘wait’, observing the visitor. If the visitor turns to leave, the dog also walks away. In Wait, human and animal communication is brought to bear within this interaction.

The dog appears to be waiting for direction; looking directly at the visitor, a state of suspended agency is implied. Taking cues from the movements of the visitor, the dog points to the relationship of control between companion species and humans. As the dog appears to wait (for instructions or movement, for example), tension is created. The dog’s potential agency is complicated by his reliance on the direction of the visitor who may be compelled to ask questions about their relationship to the dog: “What is the dog thinking?”; “Why is he waiting?” Wait seeks to indicate how states of consciousness are brought to bear in humans by the animal.

Wait was supported by a coproduction residency at Banff New Media Institute, The Banff Centre, Banff, Canada.

Previously shown at:

• “Animal Influence” Interactive Futures ’11: Animal Influence, Vancouver
• “Tracing Home – Selections from SIGGRAPH 2011” Museum of Campbell River, Canada
• “Tracing Home” Art Gallery, SIGGRAPH 2011, Vancouver