Interactive Sound Installation
Completely Dark Space
13 x 16m, 40 x 50 ft
This installation presents visitors with sounds of speeding cars
travelling across a completely dark exhibition space. The illusion of traffic is created
using various car sounds which are played through four pairs of stereo speakers placed at
either end of four invisible lanes of traffic. If a visitor is in a lane when a car
approaches, this car will screech to a halt. This stopped car will remain stationary
with its engine idling, although traffic will continue in the other lanes. When a
visitor leaves a lane containing a stopped car, this car will quickly accelerate and
continue travelling across the space. If a visitor remains standing in a lane with a
stopped car, however, subsequent cars travelling down that lane will smash into the
stopped car. Like an actual freeway, safe areas exist between each lane where a visitor
may stand without affecting the flow of traffic. An unlimited number of visitors can be
accommodated at one time.
"INTERSECTION creates a space which pivots the viewer between sensations of empathy and
tension, presenting an environment that is a metaphor for both modern life and its
accompanying anxieties."
(Bruce Johnson, Sound Symposium)