THURSDAY 20TH FEBRUARY

DIGITAL ART OR NICE COUNTRY WALK?

Thursday 20 February saw a group assemble at firstsite in Colchester, for a pleasant country ramble: with a difference. This was to be a walk led by Japanese digital artist Masaki Fujihata and local artist Roy Cleary, in which Fujihata would demonstrate The technology he uses to create digital installations such as Field-Works@Lake_Shinji – which was exhibited at firstsite as part of Future Physical’s Ecotechnology Network Exchange.

Fujihata first convened the group outside firstsite, to demonstrate the technology he uses to gather data for some of his digital artworks. Producing a pocket-sized GPS receiver, which he hooked up to a Compaq iPac, he explained that the GPS measured longitude, latitude and altitude to an accuracy of 5 metres, although, he said: “Relatively, it is more accurate. If you move just 30 centimetres, it will register that movement.” On the handheld Compaq, Fujihata explained, was custom software which recorded and displayed the GPS data.

The other crucial technological element was Fujihata’s digital video camera. He explained how it was important to synchronise the DV camera’s clock with the timer on the GPS, so that the two data streams could later be stitched together accurately. Three ramblers with video cameras also synchronised their clocks with the GPS.

With the party ready to move off, Roy Cleary, the Colchester artist leading the ramble, explained that we were going to walk to Cuckoo Farm, a working farm which also housed artists’ studios. He explained that he had named the route to the farm “Cuckoo Way”. We headed through the park around the Castle and towards High Woods.

Apart from the unusually high number of video cameras in evidence, it proved to be a typical, pleasant country walk. Cleary, at one point, re ad a delightful poem by Edward Thomas, explaining that he had previously been funded by the Tate to make a pilgrimage to Thomas’ grave in France. At one point he said that Daniel Defoe had once owned and lived in High Woods, and had overseen the brick-works there.

An hour and a half after setting out, we reached our destination – clearly still a working farm as well as a mini-artists’ colony. Refreshed and exhilarated, we headed back to Colchester. Impressively, Fujihata had assembled the data into a digital artwork ready for Future Physical’s Eco-Tech Future Natural Marketplace on Saturday 21 February.

What Fujihata showed there was a 3D representation of the walk – neatly encapsulated as Fujihata continued to capture GPS data on the coach back to firstsite – with video images and sound placed along the trace of the walk at the precise geographical points at which they were shot. A visually stimulating, striking record of a pleasant constitutional., preserved by the wonders of technology.