Architecture Parallax : Visual Crisis

Project Leaders

The Artist
Alexander Pilis is an artist, architect and curator based in Barcelona. He is the founder of Archimemoria, Canada and www.architecture-parallax.net, a non-profit organisation established to broaden the links between art, architecture, science and perception. He has participated in many international exhibitions, including galleries in Canada, the I.F.A Public Art Gallery, Stuttgart, Germany and the Tapies Foundation Barcelona, Spain and has organised Architecture Parallax: Theoretical Cabaret at La Caixa, Barcelona, Spain.
The Museum of Installation
The Museum of Installation (MOI) is a registered charity set up in 1990 as a unique institution dedicated to the research, production and dissemination of Installation. Their aims and policies have been evolving in tandem with the projects that have been initiated both in the UK and abroad. Central to this is a commitment to the cross fertilisation of theory and practice to research and education, and to cross-disciplinary collaboration. As a policy, MOI provides free access and encouragement for audiences to engage with contemporary art.

Host Institutions

British Airways London Eye
The British Airways London Eye is the world’s largest observation wheel and the fourth tallest structure in London. This London attraction and Millennium project was designed by Marks Barfield Architects along with partners British Airways. The structure consists of 32 rotating, fully enclosed capsules: each trip lasting approximately half an hour. It offers an incredible panoramic perspective of London’s skyline 135 meters above the River Thames.
Old Operating Theatre, Museum and Herb Garret
Britain’s oldest surviving operating theatre (dating to 1822) is situated in the Garret of St. Thomas’ Church, Southwark on the original site of St. Thomas’ Hospital. It consists of a small restored 19th century theatre, built in an amphitheatre style, which was used before anaesthetics and antiseptic surgery came into existence. The Herb Garret was used by the hospital’s apothecary to store and cure herbs used in medical compounds. The Museum displays the history of medicine, surgery and nursing with a collection dating predominantly from the 19th century.
Tate Modern
Tate Modern, a major gallery of modern and contemporary art, is housed in the former Bankside Power Station and opened in 2000. It displays Tate’s collection of international modern art from 1900 to the present day.
Olafur Eliasson’s The Weather Project is the fourth commissioned work in the annual Unilever Series for the Turbine Hall. The Danish artist was commissioned to create a monumental installation that simulates a rising Sun out of mist and encourages visitors to interact with the artwork via a giant mirror placed on the ceiling of the Turbine Hall.
Creative Perfumers
The London based company Creative Perfumers, situated in Piccadilly, are dedicated to the creation of haute couture fragrances. The couture perfume house was established to offer an accessible bespoke perfume service. Customised, signature scents are produced by a team of top quality perfumers and inspired by the clients they are created for.
Royal Observatory, Greenwich
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich is part of the National Maritime Museum, which works to illustrate the importance of the sea, ships, time and stars and their relationship with people. The Royal Observatory offers a tour of the night sky in the Planetarium, London’s only Camera Obscura, the telescope gallery, the Harrison clocks and the finest collection of scientific (in particular astronomical) instruments.
LABAN International School of Dance
The LABAN International School of Dance opened in Creekside, Deptford in February 2003. The dance centre offers courses for and performances from students, choreographers, designers, writers, researchers, artists and musicians from around the world. The multi-coloured translucent building by architects Herzog & de Meuron was recently awarded the prestigious 2003 Stirling Prize for Architecture.
Sir John Soane Museum
The house, museum and library at No. 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields was designed and built by the eminent architect Sir John Soane. Soane was a connoisseur and collector and used his home to display his collection of antiquities and works of art. His collections were evolved to some extent as a teaching tool for architectural students at the Royal Academy where he was Professor of Architecture from 1806. Soane’s wish for the house to become a museum was fulfilled in the early 19th century and his aims and objectives have become the museum’s mandate. The fabric of the museum and Soane’s arrangements of the collections have been preserved and made accessible to the public through its programme of exhibitions, talks and events as well as production of catalogues and publications.

Interfaces

Nicolas de Oliveira
Nicolas de Oliveira is one of the founding Directors of the Museum of Installation. He is co-author of the book ‘Installation Art’, 1994, and ‘Installation Art in the New Millennium : Empire of the Senses’ published in October 2003. Both titles were commissioned and published by Thames & Hudson. He has recently served as a conference panel member at events hosted by the Whitechapel Gallery, The Institute of Contemporary Art, Tate Modern and La Caixa, Barcelona. He is also a senior lecturer at the Sir John Cass Department of Media Art and Design, London Metropolitan University.
Bob and Roberta Smith (A.K.A. Patrick Brill)
Integral to Bob and Roberta Smith’s art is the active participation and performance from the viewer. His interactive work is motivated by a belief in art as a force for change and forum for conversation and free speech. The work he produces is funny, accessible, anti-elitist. Bob and Roberta Smith have exhibited extensively in the Europe and America, and has recently shown work in India and Norway.
Dr. Tomasz Troscianko
Tom Troscianko is a Professor in Psychology at the School of Cognitive and Computing Sciences (COGS) and a member of the Vision Research Group at Sussex University. He was previously based in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Bristol and his research is currently spread between both institutions. Troscianko’s work is concerned with how the brain processes visual information. Other topics of focus include: the use of photo-realistic graphics to depict complex environments, works of art, and vision in robots.
Jeremy Wood
Jeremy Wood is a London born artist, writer and musician. He is a co-founder of a sound recording studio which produces contemporary music projects, and is a director at the Museum of Installation. He currently lectures at the Sir John Cass Department of Media Art and Design, London Metropolitan University specialising in the history of ideas and critical theory.
Gary Staunton
Gary Staunton has been a London Black Cab driver since 1997. His considerable historical and topographical knowledge of the city is constantly growing as he exchanges information on the city with the public on a daily basis whilst navigating London’s maze of streets.
Gerry Tilling
Gerry Tilling is Technical Services Manager of the Sir John Cass Department of Media Art and Design, London Metropolitan University. Previous to taking on this role he has driven a range of creative enterprises including setting up the notable 1970’s fashion house Mr Freedom on Chelsea’s Kings Road. Gerry also maintains a practice as a highly regarded jewellery designer/ maker, and is an authority on antique and collectible timepieces.
Malcolm Last
Malcolm Last is a partner at Chassay + Last Architects, who have undertaken a diverse range of commissions for acclaimed contemporary spaces and buildings in the UK, Europe and North Africa. Chassay and Last specialise in creating environments which utilise the latest developments in materials and construction techniques in order to maximise the ergonomic potential of the space.
Dr. Matthew Chalmers
Matthew Chalmers is a reader in Computer Science at the Department of Computing Science, Glasgow University. His current research focuses on social perceptual issues in visualisation, collaborative filtering and ubiquitous computing, relating contemporary semiology / philosophy to computational representation. He teaches in the areas of human-computer interaction, information visualisation, computer supported collaborative work, and information access.