project
chronology
Skip to projects begun since
2004 ... 2000-03 ...
1998-99 ...
1994-97 ...
before 1994
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Fair-weather forces (water level) stainless-steel stanchions with electronic and mechanical systems moving velvet ropes up and down in relation to changing water level, according to data streamed over the Internet by sensor installed at a nearby body of water. Installed at Catriona Jeffries Gallery, Vancouver, with water level read at False Creek 2008 |
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Broken Arrow (with Ian Verchere) |
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| Volume (Traffic) Modified household light fixture with red, green, blue LEDs responding to current traffic conditions 2008 |
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Overflow |
Overflow develops in two consecutive stages. The second is a flexible, changing installation responding to the architecture, socio-geographic location and history of Centre A's space, built using glass drink bottles obtained during the first stage, in which the gallery participates in one of the more visible unofficial economies of the neighbourhood - the recuperation and redemption of bottles from across the city...(more) |
| Call intervention using vintage telephone modified with programmable microcontroller and custom circuitry 2006 |
A dialless telephone resembling a direct taxi-line sits on a countertop in a public place. Each time the handset is lifted the phone dials at random one of the project participants, who have agreed to have conversations with strangers who call. | |
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Transplant urban intervention with soil, transportation systems, engraved aluminum plates 2006 |
Soil from various parts of the world have been introduced into downtown Vancouver. |
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Pressions
topographiques aluminum-factory waste, metallized polyester, traces of pavement and dirt 2005 series |
Site-specific project from Sierre, Switzerland. Off-cut waste lengths of extruded aluminum from the local aluminum factory are fused with direct casts (in metallized polyester) of cracks in the local pavement. The objects unite traces of the local industry and topography, and sit in contrast to idealized images of both... (more) |
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Fallow site-responsive installation of soil and plants transplanted from empty lot 2005 |
The ground cover from a nearby empty lot (Bethaniendamm, part of the former "death strip" of the Berlin Wall, which thus has a certain memorial status) is transplanted into the gallery, completely covering the floor. Plants and seeds continue to grow over the course of the show, during which the trade practices and commercial goals usually associated with an exhibition are slowed to processes of waiting and watching... (more) |
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Un
couple de dés found cobblestones, metal chain and hooks; series 2005 |
Melding North American car culture, macho ornamentation and ready-made weapons of protest, matched pairs of used cobblestones linked by decorative metal chain hang from hooks on the wall... (more) |
| Fair-weather
forces (sun:light) intervention with sensors, microcontroller and circuits, existing lighting system, natural conditions 2005 |
The existing interior lights of a space are controlled, in real time, in direct relation to changing exterior light levels, effectively defeating the purpose of artificial lighting... (more) | |
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Shell existing architecture modified with structure of aluminum, acrylic and wood structure 2005 |
Part of an existing private storefront space is physically opened to the public for use 24 hours a day, through the removal of a large display window. An enclosure resembling a transit shelter is built on the inside of the space, attached to the existing glass frontage, and the new structure is accessed through the empty frame of the removed window... (more) |
| Wave shattered auto glass 2005 |
Recuperated shattered auto glass pooled into variable configurations related to the existing architecture. | |
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Marks hand stamps designed by Tate Liverpool staff, UV lights and ink 2004 |
A set of admission stamps designed by museum staff used to stamp the hands of visitors to the Liverpool Biennial International 04 exhibition. Reminiscent of inspection-agency or other marks, the stamps refer to a number of social processes related to approval and exclusion... (more) |
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Relay
flashing beacon transmitting in Morse Code text messages received on mobile phone 2004 |
A utilitarian light fixture enigmatically flashes, in Morse code, SMS text messages received on a designated mobile phone number. These intangible thoughts, translated into fleeting pulses, become physical embodiments of the currents of hope, loss and longing embedded in communication across distances... (more) |
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Arcade |
Site-responsive installation for Para/Site Art Space, Hong Kong |
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Stall
(Hong Kong) |
A number of flat structures, of the sort used to display produce, are arranged in a stepped formation in a storefront space, in response to the existing architecture and with reference to the organization of the local urban landscape. The forms are covered with soil, seeded, and allowed to grow over the course of the exhibition... (more) |
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Germaine Koh and
Jade Rude |
A ritualized meeting in the central business district of Toronto. The site is a concrete pad ringed by metal chain and posts, on a grassy traffic island surrounded by office towers and a historic hotel. At high noon the performers converged on the site from separate directions, removed their street clothing to reveal boxing gear, and began to spar... (more) |
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One March Day
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One March day in one woman's life, shot at six-minute intervals. |
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Point de repère
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A sequence of stills of a landmark along the highway that has become a personal reference point, marked each time I have passed it since 1999. |
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PoS
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A commonplace dot-matrix "point-of-sale" receipt printer and a control box containing a programmable microcomputer and web server, are linked to the internet to receive various types of data, ranging from a train of thought from a single person, to anonymous posted texts, to narratives or conversations... |
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OUVERT
/ OPEN
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A small structure built of recuperated cardboard boxes and glue, whose form refers simultaneously to a commercial kiosk, a children's fort, a makeshift shelter, an architectural model, and a confessional. For the duration of an exhibition it was used as a container for one-on-one conversations... (more) |
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Placebo
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An invitation to meditation, offering the possibility of slowing experience to the rhythms of one's own body and (re)connecting it to a particular place. "Swallow one when feeling ungrounded. Focus on its passage through your body." |
| The
Butler and The Secretary (with Clive Robertson) performance 2003 |
Personal services provided in the context of a nightclub event. | |
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Sleeping
Rough
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I slept in a sleeping bag, wearing a toque, at a nightclub party and at an art fair, as if transposed from the street outside... (more) |
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Occupancy
(with Phil Klygo) |
Interventions with used recycled tent fabric and existing real-estate signage. |
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The
Raven
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The refrain from Edgar Allan Poe's poem applied to a wind-spun metal sign repeats an eerie mantra of perpetual loss. |
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White
Noise Vancouver version three video projections, three DVD players, custom control device 2003 |
Three controllable video projections of red, blue and green details onto a single wall, while the related audio tracks combine into sort of a white noise. The combination of the primary colours of light occasionally produces an inexact approximation of white light, in which individual images only become partially legible by the absence of light in the dark details of the other images... (more) |
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Focus
Group
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Circular buttons featuring a high-contrast graphic design commonly used to assist optical focusing were distributed to visitors to the Frankfurter Kunstverein, marking them as members of a shifting community. |
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Spot
Radio
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A portable low-power FM radio station that packs into a suitcase, for easy set-up and broadcast from various locations. It can be made available to members of a local community, as a tool for social and political exchange, reminding us of radio's historic function of making connections, inciting action, and propagating opinion.... (more) |
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Survey
Field interactive internet project 2003 |
An experiment into the representation of public opinion and on-line communities. The opinions of large number of anonymous participants are presented in the form of a grid of red, green or blue coloured points, corresponding to each participant's geographical location. Through the visual combination of light, the array records incremental yet imprecise tendencies in popular opinion, with as much emphasis on the realms of uncertainty as on the 'clear' opinions themselves... (more) |
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Homemaking
urban interventions with string spiderwebs in existing urban situations ongoing since 2002 |
Human-scaled spiderwebs in under-used urban sites in cities suffering from inadequate housing, marking the city in terms of survival by identifying possible places for temporary refuge or habitation... (more) |
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Fortnight
series of actions and temporary interventions 2002 |
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4w
2d a/c site-specific installation with vinyl tinsel 2002 |
Parallel rows of silver car lot tinsel span McMaster Museum's largest gallery. The lengths of tinsel flutter in certain areas, making visible some of the building's hidden systems... (more) |
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Pledge
copper tokens, edition 5000 2002 |
An edition of copper tokens, each bearing the words "I WILL". The tokens may serve as an alternate form of currency, a sort of promissory note for recognizing non-commercial exchanges, particularly social bonds of trust that elude quantification... (more) |
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Counter
surplus electrical parts, wood 2002 |
A counter embedded in the wall responds predictably, reassuringly, when the button below it is pushed. |
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Points
pylons, installation instructions 2002 |
A set of standard pylons liberated from urban locations is provided as a means to change the dynamics of a given space. |
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(sign
pieces) printed plastic signs with self-adhesive vinyl 2002 |
Words are blocked-out from pre-printed signs using pieces of self-adhesive vinyl, in order perhaps to isolate the underlying sentiments behind these standard communications... (more) |
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Fair-weather
forces: wind speed turnstile with added motor, controlled by anemometer and electronic circuits Technical assistance and circuit design by Gordon Hicks 2002 |
A standard metal turnstile rotates automatically, uncannily, in direct relation to the exterior wind speed, suggesting that it could be regulating the flow of people into the space according to the weather outside... (more) |
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White
noise (London) three slide projections 2002 |
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Cambio
self-inking rubber stamps, for re-valuing currencies 2002 |
An edition of self-inking rubber stamps with the text "UN BESO," a common Spanish-language salutation of affection. They permit users to add emotional value to their monetary transactions. |
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Floe
recuperated plastic bottles, at Plug In ICA 2001 |
An installation of recuperated and refilled plastic drink bottles built on site at Plug In ICA in Winnipeg, recalling both the extreme winter weather and a recent flood... (more) |
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Still
space, dead air audio recordings for radio broadcast 2001 |
A series of ambient field recordings in quiet spots of various cities, each with a brief vocal introduction describing the site and some of its better- and lesser-known histories. Though presently quiet, each of these urban sites is in transition or on the cusp of change... (more) |
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Agoraphobia
conceptual performance 2001 |
Cards with instructions for behavior, distributed at mass gatherings. |
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Squat
stickers and actions 2001 |
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Signs
series multi-panel colour photographic works 1997-2001 |
A series of multi-panel photographic works assembled from images of words photographed from public signage, to form not-quite-sensical mottos and terse concrete poems reminiscent of the clichés and turns of phrase we use in our everyday interpersonal relations... (more) |
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Watch
work-week performance in storefront display window 2000 |
I spent office hours for several consecutive days in an enclosed storefront display window, actively observing passers-by and the life of the street. Dressed in simple clothing and equipped with only a simple chair, I watched impassively but attentively, neither communicating with nor responding to those who may attempt to interact with me... (more) |
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.
. . ball-bearings, electrical mechanisms, plastic tubing, gravity 2000 |
In an apparently-empty space, a small ball-bearings gently drop from overhead tracks, bouncing around and puddling in shifting formations. This constant yet barely visible movement establishes a zone of uncertainty, elusiveness, and slight hazard, and also of play. The project arose from an invitation to develop new work based on artefacts from the collection of the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto... (more) |
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Forum
site-specific installation with construction of abandoned books 2000 |
A site-specific installation for "Tout le temps / Every Time," la Biennale de Montréal 2000, conceived as a place for reading, discussion and debate. A large quantity of books abondoned on site by the former tenant (a discount bookstore) was used to build two sets of grandstands facing each other across a small room, like an arena or a parliament... (more) |
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by
the way site-specific intervention with live audio and video feeds and live FM radio transmission 2000 |
Site-specific intervention for La Torre de los Vientos, Mexico City. A live audio feed monitoring cars, is processed in real time to resemble gusts of wind, and this transformed sound simultaneously retransmitted as a localized FM radio broadcast using an existing station's frequency, as an alternate traffic/weather report... (more) |
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Thanksgiving
set of two coupons published in The Globe and Mail distributed 6 Nov 1999 |
Two coupons, indicating "thanks" and "many thanks," were put into circulation through a national newspaper, to be clipped out and used in social situations... (more) |
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Surrender
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A white flag flies atop a building or a flagpole, surrendering an unspecified territory and unidentified people to an unknown end. |
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En
busca del nivel del lago (Looking for lake level) recuperated and refilled plastic bottles re-levelling sinking floor 1999 |
Site-specific installation for Ex Teresa Arte Actual, Mexico City. In the sunken end of the building, I created a reminder of the lake that used to exist on the city's site, making a level expanse of water by stacking thousands of refilled plastic bottles recuperated from the neighbourhood.... (more) |
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Side
piece installation with 6.5-hour video track 1999 |
Four men pass their days on two public benches, while the sound track conveys the ambient sounds and conversations from the room in which the camera was located. The day-long video plays on a small monitor placed inconspicuously on one side of a table or desk or counter, providing more company than entertainment... (more) |
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Poll
public installation with metal fence post 1999 |
For several months, a metal post is planted in the middle of a well-worn walking path, during which time the path diverts. When the post is removed, the path finds its own place again. Like a primitive poll, the pole is a measure of popular movement... (more) |
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Prayers
intervention with computer interface and fog machine transmitting office activity as Morse-encoded smoke signals 1999 |
A computer interface continually captures all the keystrokes typed on another computer within the same building. In real time, this data is translated to Morse code and broadcast into the surrounding atmosphere in the form of Morse-encoded smoke signals issuing from an opening in the building... (more) |
| Acción
de gracias (Thanksgiving) 1000 offset-printed paper bills 1999 |
Paper bills, printed with the words "1000 gracias", for distribution. | |
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sleeppatterns
version 1: video, 6:30 minutes, colour, silent version 2: video, 40 minutes, colour, sound 1999 |
A video of stills documenting the beds I slept in every night for one year (second version). My voice recites the changing dates over the succession of stills.
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Change
quantity of engraved metal slugs, for distribution 1999 |
A quantity of coin-like metal slugs, each engraved with the single word "bon" or "bien". |
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for
you internet site 1999 |
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Roll
floor dust, adhesive ongoing since 1998 |
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Fête artist's hair, ribbon, binding ongoing since 1997 |
A growing collection of swags of the artist's hair, sewn into fringes and hanging on a wall like tinsel celebrating a rite of passage... (more) |
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Teams
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Trek
installation with 29-minute video loop on overhead monitor 1997 |
A silent epic in several episodes, following the uncertain journey of a paper napkin across urban spaces. The half-hour video plays continuously on an overhead monitor like those that announce airplane arrivals and departures...(more) |
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Living
room installation with 20-minute video loop 1997 |
A very close-up survey of the perimeter of a carpeted room becomes a compulsive and repetitive measure of living space...(more) |
| Plot
(with Laura Margita) recuperated flowered mattresses 1997 |
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Tokens
small bronzes, to be carried 1996-97 |
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Exchange
offset printed cards, in unlimited editions 1996 |
A series of 64 business cards, each bearing a series of broken and unbroken blank lines that suggest a place to write an address or a message, and also correspond to hexagrams from the I Ching, a remarkably ambiguous, context-based system of divination. Anonymous and generic until put to use, they are tools for creating particular stories out of shifting circumstances |
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Journal
(title variable) classified ads ongoing since 1995 |
A terse personal journal appearing daily in the classified ads... (more) |
| Memento
series series of framed colour photographs with trophy plaques 1995-96 |
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| Witness
books of courtroom sketches 1995-96 |
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Self-portrait
oil on wood panel, in layered states ongoing since 1994 |
A self-portrait painted in layers, with each layer obscured by subsequent layers. Exhibited with archival photo documentation of previous states... (more) |
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"You
Press the Button, We'll Do the Rest" (with Geoffrey Brown)
installation of borrowed snapshots 1993 |
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Sightings
series offset postcards 1992-98 |
A series of postcards printed from snapshots found in public places, captioned on the back with date, site and circumstances of the find... (more) |
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Knitwork
unravelled used garments, with text and photographic documentation ongoing since 1992 |
A life-long piece made by unravelling used garments and reknitting the yarn into a single continuously growing object. As it records the ongoing passage of time and effort, the work becomes a monument to the artifacts that comprise it, to mundane activity, and to everyday labour... (more) |
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Lumber
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A flexible mass of recuperated 2x4 lumber, glazed with layers of oil and marine varnish, installed in relation to given architecture. |
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The
International Code of Signals Paintings oil, enamel and varnish over acrylic on set of 40 paintings 1990-91 |
