Even though I only get to see the pictures of Erwin’s projects, I often feel an invitation of going into the space of the project and explore. I really appreciate the emphasis on subjective and physical interaction with space in Erwin’s projects, such as MATRIX, FADEI and FADEIII, which are often under a technologically and artistically coded design. At the same time, I find it interesting to think about how cultural elements play their roles in his projects, which are set in real life spaces other than gallery spaces.
When I visit some places, I like to take pictures. I often so concentrated on the LCD screen of my digital camera that my experiences of the space at those specific picture-taking moments have been flatten or frame by the screen and the photo images. Under this kind of situation, my experience of the space is digitized and subtly loses its physical nuances. How does it feel to be in that space? I don’t know how to answer this question, because I am often too occupied by my digital image making of the space with my digital camera. I move my camera and take a shot. The space has then been framed. The changing of frames does remind me of different ways to look at the space. But still “the looks” cannot cover all the physical experience of the space. One may say that using a video camera may be able to help to document that physical sense of space better with depth, movement, sounds and so on…However, I just feel a bit overwhelmed by my forming habit of prioritizing technological documentation of space over the physical interaction with space. Then we are first cyborg not human. This statement may be a bit extreme. However, I feel a bit isolated or suffocated by my life saturated by media technology as a dominant device of experiencing space.
Erwin’s projects are digital, but digitization of space becomes an invitation for audience to physically interact with the space. The spots of light embedded through electronic engineering mark out a simple but dedicated profile of the space in the dark. Audiences walking in become part of the space. In Erwin’s project, the sense of space exists in the form of experiencing physical interaction. The lights darken the human figure into the space; at the same time, the body movements of participants make the space visible. I wonder how they really feel in that space.
I asked Erwin whether location matters in his project. He said that space didn’t really matter to his project, but he preferred quiet space. I wonder how the cultural sense of space mattered in Erwin’s projects such as
FADEI and FADEIII. These projects are set in non-gallery spaces like a city square and a church. Human are not just a physical being but also a cultural being. How does the cultural elements in those specific space effect their perception of the spaces? I guess this may not be a question that Erwin intends to raise through his project. But I am just curious about this aspect.
