Art and Design Magazine

Colony

02/

Colony is an art installation located within the Digital Harbour precinct at Melbourne’s Docklands. Created by digital artist and Monash academic Troy Innocent, Colony can be described as a network of sculptures, designed to interact as an ecosystem. “The work consists of 42 totems, about human height, that communicate with one another. They communicate by flashing orange green or blue light, or by making sounds.” Troy said. “The sculptures not only respond with one another, but they also react to human activity. As the number of people within the vicinity of the totems increases, the light and sound activity also increases.” Troy likens the interaction between the totems to an ecosystem, and says that part of the intent of the installation was to draw attention to the relationship between the natural and the artificial. “The idea of the artificial ecosystem in digital media has been around for 10 or 20 years, but it is usually experienced on screen. In this case, the ecosystem is embodied within the location of the installation site itself, and visitors to the space become part of the ecosystem.” The installation also allows visitors to manipulate the sculptures through the use of an iPhone app. In doing so, Colony has taken the title as the world’s first location-based game using the Apple iPhone.

“The iPhone app allows you to walk up to one of the sculptures and play it like an instrument. Since the launch we’ve staged a couple of performances at the site, in which we’ve gathered 20 or 30 people to play the totems in a group situation. This introduces another dynamic to the installation whereby it becomes a communal experience instead of just an individual experience,” Troy said.

More info at iconica.org/colony/

03/

01/

Odyssey installation by UK artist Sheena Macrae

02/03/04

Colony, by Troy Innocent, is located in the Digital Harbour Precinct, Docklands

04/