The project is built of a fragile stair and viewing device that cantilevers above the solid exhibition walls. The structure is a continuation of a staircase embedded in a typical Swiss Art Awards exhibit cubicle; which encourages visitors to walk up and observe what is happening from above. Once on top of the platform a visitor can move a viewfinder to document digital video of the things they see. And a microphone records the sound of visitors walking and talking in the installation. The captured imagery and audio are processed through a website software and shown on three small screens in the exhibition hall and personal phones and tablets through the Swiss Art Awards website.
The installation will be built using materials that are both found and custom made. For example, a hidden water vessel and scaffolding frame will counterbalance the cantilevering stairs. After the exhibition the metal scaffolding and water will be returned, and the exhibition walls will be used to support other artworks. This will reduce material waste by circulating materials back to their providers. The model for the project exhibits the stair, support structure, a small web camera, speaker and screen. The video taken from the viewfinder is processed via a prototype software that enables users to zoom into the video imagery to get a closer ‘look’ - one also sees the large pixels and the white edge that crops the digital image. We invite you to touch the screen to test the zoom.