Bloc Blonc, at the Soap Factory July 2 - 4, 2005.
Bloc Blonc was an interactive video installation cum a virtual protest rally at the Soap Factory Multiplex. Participants created protest signs and were recorded holding them up as they walked through the space. Video was then composited with other videos of previous protesters to create a continuously changing group of individuals protesting together. When a protester was done walking through the space, they hung their sign on a wall in the gallery, creating an ever-changing wallpaper of protest signs.
A bloc is a group of nations, parties, or persons united for common purpose or action, often irrespective of party lines. The title of this piece is a word play. "The white bloc" is a twist on the anarchist black blocs. ItŐs also a bastardized French reference-our nationŐs symbol of liberty was a gift from France, the birthplace of many historical revolutionaries. We celebrate this with a fist raised as opposed to a torch, and a convenient spelling error.
Bloc Blonc is a symbolic protest, a virtual linking of arms. In a public bloc activity, open-ended situations are created.
View documentation of the video wall virtual protest. [Quicktime h.264 320x240, 1.3MB]
Bloc Blonc was a virtual protest, comprised of video of participants protesting as individuals, coming together in a rally on screen. The image above is a screenshot of the virtual rally with different participants.
Two protesters walking together towards the video camera, recording their protest to insert them in the rally.
A sign created by a protester. The signs ranged from politically oriented, to foriegn languages to misspelled and just plain funny.
When participants were done being recorded, they hung their sign on a wall in the gallery, creating an evolving collage of protest messages.
View a timelapse movie of the signs as they were hung on the wall. [Quicktime 320x240, 6.1MB]
A long wall in the gallery was painted with a manipulated Statue of Liberty, representing the solidarity of protest and the iconic image of American liberty and independance which we were celebrating on the Fourth of July weekend. The words Liberté, Egalité, Individualité, were painted on the wall, a twist on the traditional Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, instead emphasizing the strength of individuals coming together.
Entrance to the Soap Factory.
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