Review

“Hosts” is an exciting project shown at the prestigious and famous Bath Abbey, and has been inspired by the ladder motif on the west front of the abbey. Martin Rieser, professor of Digital Arts at Bath Spa University, has hung five giant screens at strategic points of the abbey space. Wearing special ultrasound-emitting badges and wireless earphones the participants in Hosts trigger the presence of a variety of characters. These "hosts" are a wide range of ages, gender, social types and races, and always appear singly to the participant.




The general premise is a 3D audio landscape of footsteps, tonal voices and breathing sounds which accompany the visitor between the screens and form a tangible changing audio landscape. If a visitor stands for more than a few seconds in front of a particular screen, the figure will turn in the direction of the viewer and return the visitors stare. The video’s character look’s the visitor up and down, or turns away in distraction. The characters then speak a series of poetic phrases, also seen as animated text on the screen. A character follows you around so to speak, you move the character moves which give the viewer a real feeling of authorship- or a feeling of being involved in what is happening.



All of this can be as interesting for a spectator who has not purchased the electrical devices as those who has; although you will not have the ability to hear the speech just watching other people, watching the characters on the screen and the movement that is generated, can be just as interesting and strangly hypnotic. People wondering around a Cathdral with there eyes pointing upwards to the heavens is surely something that can be experianced everyday!

On the last screen of the installation, which is always there, is pictured two vertical ladders, placed on opposite sides of the space, and disappearing beyond the screen edges. On one ladder the characters are continuously climbing upwards and vanishing. On the second ladder they are climbing downwards from the top of the frame and walking off screen. Personally this was the most interesting part. Although the technologies used for this section of the space, are at its most basic, simple video and audio, on such a scale and such a setting, it is the most poignant and resonant part of the whole installation.

Sounds impressive? It certainly looks impressive; the large screens are overwhelming, towering up between the arches to monstrous proportions. The audio sounds coming from the headphones are loud, and uncompromising. This piece screams look at me, listen to me, and for that reason alone deserves a seeing.

I did find the content of the piece rather grating after a while, and as with all new media pieces there is a certain element of using technology for the sake of it. Should technology dictate what the artworks looks like? Or should the artwork dictate which technologies should be applied? Rather like the Chicken and the egg, there is always this question. I suspect that the technologies here dictated what the artwork looked like.

Although not completely successful in its attempt; it is an enjoyable, interesting experience. This exhibition shows us what to expect in the future, if you think of it, if you will as a practice, give this genre another ten years and the results will be spectacular. An engaging, multi sensory experience which defies your imagination, and expectations.