(W6) external response

For the external response, I went to Gallery QI's "Antibodies" exhibition, and I was able to go see it in person. The works I was able to view there were Michael Trigilio and Bobby McElver's Verse One for the Ten Grounded Stacks, as well as Anti-Plague.

The Verse One installation was definitely interesting to experience. I haven't had the opportunity to see many works in person, so it was nice to do so for once and really be immersed in the projection and the accompanying music and sound design. The video aspect of the installation was dense with intriguing imagery, and one thing I was curious about were the images of East Asian architecture, as well as the elephant. The scenes of the resting bodies, their masks, and what looked to be vials of blood, really brought to mind the central ideas of the exhibition. I was focusing on the physicality of the people on screen and how they were posed, as they seemed that they could be either lounging or weak from illness.

However, I think I made a bit of a mistake while viewing this installation. I actually sat closer to the edge of the bench, rather than the middle, so I don't think I heard the dialogue properly. At the time, I was wondering why I couldn't really understand what was being said even when I heard the music so clearly, but during lecture Trish mentioned that you had to be seated in the middle of the bench to hear it properly, which made me realize that I missed out on experiencing that. It does, however, make me appreciate how exact the spatial audio for the piece is.

I was also able to play Anti-Plague for a bit. I can definitely see how this is a response to Plague from the gameplay. I didn't play for long, but it was enough to see how it portrays the effectiveness of protective measures, especially since it's based on real data.

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