Blast Theory: Can You see me now?

Play from July 4 – 6, 4 to 6 and 8 to 10 p.m.

 
Calling all adventurers! From July 4 – August 3, 2003, the British artist group Blast Theory will be on show with their project  “Can You See Me Now? Oldenburg”  at the Edith Russ House for Media Art. There will be an opportunity to take part in a game with which Blast Theory won this year’s “Golden Nica” for Interactive Art at Ars Electronica. The opening is on Friday, July 4 at 3.45 pm, the online game starts at 4 pm. From July 9, an installation of the game will be on display at the Edith-Russ-Haus for Media Art.
www.canyouseemenow.de

For three days, players from all over the world can compete against the members of Blast Theory via the Internet. While players can play from the comfort of their own home or  Edith-Ruß-Haus für Medienkunst, they move simultaneously through the virtual Oldenburg, develop joint tactics with other online players and try to escape the runners from Blast Theory who are looking for them in the streets of the real Oldenburg. GPS technology determines the exact positions of runners and online players. From the computer, the players see what the opponent sees: the city, the runners, themselves and the game. Eavesdropping on the runners through the audio stream of their walkie talkies gives them an additional advantage over their pursuers, who, with clever tactics, leave them sweating, lost and completely out of breath in the streets of Oldenburg.

“Can You See Me Now?” is the merging of real and virtual space to explore aspects of presence and absence and to demonstrate the diverse possibilities of interaction in electronic space. It is a plea for the nuances of these “encounters between worlds” and their positive re-evaluation. The cell phone, for example, already stands for the victory of uncomplicated and unlimited communication technology over intimacy, interpersonal encounters and traditional space-time structures.

Blast Theorygives these aspects a ‘playful’ framework and makes them directly tangible. By sharing the same “space”, the online players and the runners on the streets enter into a relationship with each other. Due to the game situation, it is initially of a playful, adversarial nature, and there is loud encouragement, insults, banter and dedicated fighting. At the same time, the course of the game also brings moving moments. When two players place their avatars together, suddenly face each other in their computer screens and look at each other, this silent first “encounter” can become a very intimate moment. Online players also develop empathy for the tired runners struggling with the environment. As one Seattle player who participated in a version of the game in Sheffield or Rotterdam wrote: “I experienced a moment of cardiac arrest when my concern suddenly switched from desperately trying to escape to desperately hoping that the runner chasing me didn’t get run over by a backing truck (it sounded like that happened).”

Blast Theory is one of the UK’s most interesting groups of artists working in performance, installation, video and mixed reality projects. Combining rigorous research and development with leading alternative technologies, they create projects across a range of media and disciplines, taking risks and encouraging critical debate. Based in London since 1991, Blast Theory consists of a creative team of three as well as numerous collaborators required for each project. “Can You See Me Now?” is a collaboration between Blast Theory and Mixed Reality Lab. 

Blast Theory present their work in international exhibitions and conferences, e.g. during the Banff Television Festival, the Basel Art Fair (Liste 2001), the Biennale in Sidney 2002, the International Festival for Experimental Theater in Cairo, the Dutch Electronic Arts Festival in Rotterdam, the Mediamatic in Amsterdam and in “Mixed Reality Boundaries” at the ZKM in Karlsruhe. Her work  Desert Rain received an honorable mention at the Transmediale awards ceremony in Berlin in 2001 and was subsequently presented in the UK, Central and Eastern Europe and Australia. Since the beginning of 2002 they have participated in the scholarship program of the Banff New Media Institute in Canada. “Can You See Me Now?” was nominated for a BAFTA award in 2001 and has just been awarded this year’s “Golden Nica” for Interactive Art by Ars Electronica.