(small) creative initiatives that challenge (big) traditional ideas
• ( egoistic ) • activistic • architectural • audible • cinematic • conceptual • graphic • strategic • surface • urban • wireless
The Corporate fallout Detector is a device designed for the politically conscious shopper.
The detector scans barcodes off of consumer products, and makes a clicking noise based on the environmental or ethical record of the manufacturer.
According to the designer James Patten, the goal of the project is to encourage awareness and curiosity, rather than to serve as an educated consumer’s sole source of information.
The Yes Men has done it again.
At the 20th anniversary of the chemical disaster in Bhopal, Andy (one of the Yes Men) disguised himself as a representative of Dow Chemicals and in a live interview on BBC World, he stated that Dow Chemicals would finally accept full responsibility and offer the people of Bhopal decent compensation.
Truth is, Dow Chemicals refuse to accept any responsibility for the disaster, in which half a million people were exposed to the leaking gas and 20,000 died as a result. More than 120,000 people still suffer from ailments caused by the accident and the subsequent pollution at the plant site.
This movie directed by Dan Olman follows the anti-corporate activist-pranksters called The Yes Men as they impersonate World Trade Organization spokesmen on TV and at business conferences around the world.
The story begins when Andy and Mike create a fake WTO website. Some visitors don’t notice the site is a fake, and send speaking invitations meant for the real WTO. Delighted to speak for the organization they oppose, Mike and Andy accept the invitations and soon find themselves attending important functions as WTO representatives.
The GPS sniper rifle is used to implant a GPS-microchip in the body of a human being. The microchip will enter the body and stay there, causing no internal damage, and only a very small amount of physical pain to the target that feels like a mosquito-bite. At the same time a digital camcorder with a zoom-lens fitted within the scope will take a high-resolution picture of the target. This picture will be stored on a memory card for later image-analysis.
This fictitious GPS sniper rifle is a subversive piece of art that was exhibited in Beijing at the China Police 2002 expo where it managed to attract some serious attention from real arms traders.
Exxon Secrets is a website by Josh On and Amy Balkin commissioned by Greenpeace.
The website, which is based on Josh On's previous project 'They Rule', is designed to visualize the invisible connections between Exxon Mobil and and not-so independent organizations and think-tanks that have worked against solutions to global warming and climate change.
In contrast to They Rule, Exxon Secrets is less of an artproject but specifically designed to be a research database of information on the corporate funded anti-environmental movement.
Inspired and provoked by the conditions of homeless man close to his studio, American artist Michael Rakowitz decided to do something.
He designed a mobile inflatable shelter that can be attached to a ventilation system on existing architecture as a means for providing temporary and warm shelter for homeless people, thereby using otherwise wasted resources.
Over a period of time Rakowitz designed and costumized Parasite-shelters for homeless people but after 9-11 the growing suspiciousness in the U.S towards 'unusual elements' made it difficult for the project to continue.
In any case, Rakowitz stresses that the project does not present itself as a solution: "It is not a proposal for affordable housing. Its point of departure is to present a symbolic strategy of survival for homeless existence within the city, amplifying the problematic relationship between those who have homes and those who do not have homes."
• Parasite
The Surveillance Camera Players is a New York based group that was formed in protest against the use of surveillance cameras in public places.
The group manifests its opposition by performing specially adapted plays (such as George Orwell's 1984) in front of the surveillance camaras in subways, on the streets, in public buildings etc.
The Players have been entertaining big brothers since 1996 and besides performing live they also organizes Surveillance Camera Outdoor Walking Tours in New York City.
• the surveillance camera players
Nothing So Strange is a mockumentary (faux documentary) that follows the group Citizens for Truth in their search for the truth behind Bill Gates' assasination on December 2, 1999.
In order to give the plot an extra dimension of authenticity, director Brian Flemming designed a string of phony websites dedicated to conspiracy theories and memorials related to Bill Gates' assasination. One of the sites was supposedly made so believable that it fooled a Korean journalist and subsequently put the local stock market on hold until the mistake was discovered.
Nothing So Strange has been hyped as an anti-Bill Gates film but the director is merely hijacking Gates' persona in order to tell a story about group organisation and internal conflicts.
Contact: Sebastian Campion