Client: Heart of Glass
Location: Knowsley

On a Saturday afternoon in May last year, we installed a white screen backdrop in one of the vacant shops in Huyton Village, Knowsley. I invited passers-by of all ages to step in and “make shapes” while I filmed their responses. Unsurprisingly, many required little encouragement.

Most participants arrived with their own ideas about how to engage with the invitation, and I simply followed their lead, allowing the camera to roll. The artworks installed on the platform at Huyton Station draw on two of these spontaneous performances, capturing the exuberance, confidence, attitude and humour of the people of Huyton for those passing through the station.

Each of the two panels contains interlaced images that generate analogue animations through the movement of the viewer. The perceived speed of the animation shifts according to the viewer’s pace and distance from the work. The same effect unfolds for passengers observing the pieces from passing trains, creating a dynamic relationship between the artwork and its audience.

The works allude to our complex relationship with mobile phones: how, where and why we use them, and the ways in which they mediate our interactions with the world. By employing a simple analogue technology that depends on bodily movement and physical presence, the pieces draw attention to the irony of our ongoing search for agency and connection as embodied beings navigating an increasingly digital world.