SEISMIC SHIFT

Interactive installation (video documentation of video elements)

I’ve never used found footage in my work before, but I was compelled to make a piece that directed attention to the struggle for change that the national Occupy movement represented, widely seen through social media in an unprecedented way, and through the eyes of protestors on the ground. In these videos one can often hear the chant “…the world is watching you…” in the background.

In Seismic Shift I incorporated familiar YouTube videos captured by Occupy protestors, revealing fellow protestors sustaining injuries at the hands of police, risking their well-being to express their frustration with the status quo.

The viewer initially sees a trompe l'oeil fire burning in a hearth. As they approach, video footage from Occupy Wall Street appears in the fire—shouting, screaming and images of violence and police brutality. This eventually fades away to once again reveal the fire burning in the hearth. A different video is triggered each time someone approaches. Seismic Shift contrasts the darker side of human nature revealed in this brutality with the comfort and lull of the familiar.

This piece was installed at Aggregate Space in Oakland, CA for the exhibition Ostranenie (Jan 2012), then at Currents New Media Festival in Santa Fe (June 2012)

Found footage courtesy of the following sources:

Girl manhandled pulling by her hair- nypd cop police brutality

protester was allegedly thrown to the ground in Zuccotti - as dragged bleeding head out

Occupy Cal 11/9/11 PART 1

Occupy Oakland - Veteran Shot in * FACE *

Police pepper spraying and arresting students at UC Davis

PEACEFUL FEMALE PROTESTORS PENNED IN THE STREET AND MACED!- #OccupyWallStreet