[ISEA2018] Workshop: Michael Bertram, Fabian Büntig, Christoph Vogel, Ivana Druzetic, Anastasia Treskunov, Christian Geiger & Janna Lichter — PS2: Virtual Graffiti

Workshop Statement

Paint Durban together with Durban! Weather by writing a message, making a drawing or a simple abstraction, people will be given the possibility to create their own mark in a public space with the help of digital tools. The collective painting will be made on a virtual background by using VR glasses and a controller, while simultaneously visible for the observers as a projection on a real nearby wall. By using a camera connected to the VR glasses, the users will be able to shoot a photo in the endless pallet of their real surrounding and choose local sights, objects, faces or random details as patterns for their painting. The city impressions will this way be inscribed in the very ink of their authors. Drawing on the symbolism of graffiti art, this participative public activity offers an opportunity for personal expression in urban space. However perishable and ephemeral on brick-and-mortar, we are wondering – can this virtual tool reproduce the contested terrains of the city walls while avoiding the controversies often attached to it? Can the virtual walls be vandalised? Can the virtually extended space be appropriated? Or do you just want to play? It´s your wall!

  • Michael Bertram, Fabian Büntig, Christoph Vogel, Anastasia Treskunov, Christian Geiger & Janna Lichter, Germany
  • Ivana Druzetic, Croatia