Desert Bloom [1996]

Desert Bloom takes the concept of invisible technologies as its foundation, exploring the problematic condition of representing electro-magnetic radiation. The installation takes the form of a kiosk resembling a simple western american desert house from which emanates the glow and buzz of a television. "Desert Bloom" was the name given to the flower-shaped clouds which sprung from the ground during nuclear testing in the 1950's and 1960's, and this work metaphorically draws attention to the similarities between the propaganda of safety which accompanied cold-war nuclear testing and which currently accompany the promotion of personal and domestic electronic devices.

As visitors approach the kiosk, they are engaged in an aural interaction with it. The kiosk is in effect surrounded by two fields -- one is the imperceptible field of electro-magnetic frequency (EMF) emanating from the television, and the other, defined by the tracking range of proximity-controlled sensors, is a field of sound (the sound of irradiated ants from the 1950's nuclear-hysteria film THEM!) which increases in volume as visitors approach. Both of these fields operate figuratively to prompt a consideration of the effects of EMF radiation on the body and the environment: the television inside the kiosk is a surrogate for the myriad EMF sources which surround us, and the proximity-controlled sound is a sensory substitution for the otherwise humanly imperceptible EMF radiation.