Artist Statement

SUBMARINE is an interactive installation which simulates circumstances similar to a navigating submarine operating under water. The installation questions how much human perception and psychology is altered within a controlled sensory-stimulated technological environment. This piece is designed for three participants who must work cooperatively within an enclosed, capsule-like room. Each person is isolated to a specific work station. One person is reliant on information he/she views through a periscope. This person becomes the navigating eyes of the submarine. The periscope can be maneuvered within the aquatic environment with a joystick controller. The second person receives only audio information coming from the aquatic environment. The periscope is equipped with a microphone that picks up various sound-emitting objects within the water. The third person is stationed in front of a grid, which gives a satellite view of both the submarine’s location and some of the unknown objects within the aquatic environment while they decipher exactly what they are perceiving. Each participant is intimately dependent on the others’ specialized sensory information. The goal for these participants is to reach their final destination with good judgment, as they will be faced with both threatening and nonthreatening obstacles that they must decide to destroy or plan to avoid.

• Sandra Budd (U.S.A.) The focus of my work is interactive installations. Many of the works examine the objectives behind new technologi­cal explorations.These works question the impact of tech­nology on our perception of the natural world.This interest in both the natural sciences and technology based sciences has lead me to create projects which place multiple viewers within a sensory heightened environment. These simulated environments challenge the viewers ability to interact and decipher a real environment via the interface of technologi­cal tools that replicate our own senses. In 1996 I created an interactive installation called Mars:Test Site of the Future which simulated circumstances similar to what actual explorations of Mars might be like.This piece lead me to the development of the Submarine installation presented at this years symposium. Most recently I completed my MFA degree at Carnegie Mellon University. In the winter of ’97 I participated in an invitational artist in residency in Skoki, Poland with students from the Poznan Academy of Fine Arts. In the summer of ’96 I exhibited in The International Edinburgh Festival under the invitation of The Demarco European Art Foundation.