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Christie Abandon Normal Devices for Liverpool Festival

The streets of Liverpool recently came alive for a unique five-day arts festival, dubbed Abandon Normal Devices (AND).

Throughout its duration, the event celebrated more than 15 new commissions, over 25 film screenings, six UK premieres and over ten exhibitions from more than 50 leading and emerging international artists and film-makers across more than 14 of Liverpool's major arts venues and public spaces.

Presented by Liverpool-based FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) the audio visual department needed to call on its huge experience and vast inventory of Christie SD and HD instruments to service the many outdoor projections that took place on prominent buildings in the city.

The creative projection highlight was demonstrated in Krzysztof Wodiczko's challenging War Veteran Vehicle - in which war veteran stories were projected in large format from a British military vehicle, which has been converted into a roving projection unit, and was driven by veterans through the streets.

Forming a major component of the exhibit, the vehicle's gun placements were re-fitted with a Christie Roadster S+20K SXGA+ DLP 3-chip 20,000 ANSI lumens projector and a PA system, to transmit the testimonies of returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan (and their families) onto the facades of buildings and other monuments in the city via large scale slide projections.

The complete artwork was presented (between 8.30pm-11pm) across the five nights, with the truck driving to different locations, including Ropewalks Square, Georges Dock Building and World Museum - as well as the Metropolitan Cathedral's bell tower.

But the selection process for the War Veteran Vehicle building projections had been challenging, according to FACT's Claudia Lastra: "The artist wanted buildings that were landmarks, that were centrally located - with a high number of passers-by - and with a good surface area for projecting onto."

The vehicle, itself had been purchased from a military enthusiast who had converted a Land Rover to the military model. FACT had also faced the task of transporting the vehicle - with no roof, windscreen or doors - from Scotland to Liverpool in the August rain, and then designing the projection rig and speaker mount in collaboration with the artist to resemble a rocket launcher. This was then fabricated by a local engineering firm.

Ms. McCabe added that the Roadster S+20K had been the logical choice in view of its excellent resolution for standard definition projectors. "This resulted in the projected text being clearly displayed, and using the three-chip DLP engine ensured an excellent colour ratio." Although using standard SD, the SXGA+ resolution of the S+20K was sufficiently close to high definition to produce an excellent image quality, she confirmed.

Driving the AV was a computer programme created by Robert Ochshorn, technical/research assistant for Interrogative Design Group at Massachussetts Institute of Technology (of which Wodiczko) is a member; this synchronized the audio with the transcribed words.

Renowned internationally for his socially engaged, politically charged work, Wodiczko's last work in the UK created a sensation in 1985 when he projected the image of a Swastika on the front of the South African embassy on Trafalgar Square, and a scud missile on Nelson's Column. This is the first time he has returned to the UK or created new work here since then.

Elsewhere in the Abandon Normal Devices programme, FACT have dipped further into their Christie inventory of Roadster S+20K's and high-definition projectors to service other events.

These included Primitive, which used a Christie HD8K 3-chip DLP 8,000 ANSI lumens high definition projector and five Christie HD405 4100 ANSI lumens single-chip DLP projectors to highlight the UK premiere of Thai artist, Apichatpong Weerasethakul's new multi-platform media artwork; the Open Eye Gallery's presentation of an exhibition by artist, photographer and award-winning film-maker Duane Hopkins, whose distinctive portrayals of British rural life were brought to life by a Christie HD8K 3-chip DLP 8,000 ANSI lumens HD projector; KMA - a collaboration between UK media artists Kit Monkman and Tom Wexler, focused on illuminating and promoting interactions between people in public spaces using projected light and a Christie Roadster S+20K.

A further high-brightness S+20K was used for On The Waterfront - a cinematic adventure that began at the south end of the Pier Head. The window of the new Museum of Liverpool became a gigantic cinema screen - which showed a mix of classic films, audio-visual performances and the iconic cinema feature On The Waterfront itself, starring Marlon Brando.

The entire AND Festival was funded by Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Polish Cultural Institute, Arts Council England, Legacy Trust Lottery Fund, The City of Liverpool, Northwest Vision Media and UK Film Council.

Summing up, Simon Bradshaw, Head of Media Services, FACT, said: "FACT'S partnership with Christie means that we can support high profile outdoor projections and projects such as Wodiczko and KMA; we have a range of HD and high res SD projectors to hire at subsidised rates for artists and arts organisations across the UK."

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Christie Abandon Normal Devices for Liverpool Festival

9th October 2009

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