Facade
The FACADE project is a telematic installation/performance situated at Federation Square, Melbourne, Australia. Images of the SBS/ACMI façade at Federation Square are projected onto the building itself. The projected image will be aligned to match the actual facade, except that the projected image will be altered in colour so as to superimpose a change in hue on the building surfaces. The public determines what colours and design will be used through a java web interface, which presents an image of the façade with basic tools for ‘painting’ the image. This strategy allows a participant anywhere in the world with access to the internet to determine what will be projected. The individual designs submitted by the participants are scheduled and played out over an evening, during the actual staging of the physical component of the event, which will occur on the abovementioned date.
Local participants will be able to view the event on site on the night of the event, whilst those not able to physically attend will still have an opportunity to see the projections through a web cast of the event.
This project engages the public in an unprecedented and intimate manner. Through the mechanism of the internet, the local and international community is able to participate in a playful intervention, affecting a prominent public space in the City of Melbourne, Australia. The merging of public and virtual spaces, allows for a broader sense of community, no longer restricted by geographical location alone, and unhindered by national boundaries and borders. This will hopefully facilitate greater communication and hence understanding and tolerance between communities.