Chalk adorns its sidewalks like paint on the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling, and classic music floods the inner harbour from an entire orchestra floating on a barge: this is Victoria.
In a city full of such diverse art, it seems only natural that 16 years ago Todd Eacrett and his team created Antimatter [Media Art].
“We wanted to move into a more media art, experimental direction,” says Eacrett. “So we started this festival that was very much about innovation, and anti-Hollywood and censorship.”
They started with 60 to 70 pieces shown for five days; today they have close to 150 pieces that run for just over two weeks. The variation in media has expanded, too: there are installation pieces that have more of an exhibition quality, and film pieces with performance elements.
“Presenting the pieces is part of the challenge, but also part of the fun,” says Eacrett. “Finding works that have a kind of relationship to each other, or can play off each other. Not necessarily similar, but have some interesting juxtapositions, whether it’s stylistic or ideas.”
For example, American artist Jodie Mack created a unique piece called Dusty Stacks of Mom: The Poster Project, which explores the decline of her mother’s mailorder poster business. The animated posters electrify the screen while she sings original lyrics live to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.
Artists from the USA, Europe, Asia, and Latin America construct a global picture of the media art world today at Antimatter. But this multicultural collision can also pose logistical problems.
“Two years ago,” recalls Eacrett, “there was a woman whose work we were showing from Mexico. She didn’t speak much English, but we speak a little Spanish. We managed with lots of hand gestures and nodding. Again, it’s part of the fun.”
Discovering how an artist created an idea, what techniques they used to bring it to life, is a large part an arts festival. Instead of artist talks or lectures, Antimatter is hosting media salons: informal social events for the artists and the public to share ideas over refreshments.
“I think the media salons are a really rewarding experience for the public, and for the artists,” says Eacrett. “They might be working in a certain amount of isolation; it’s important for them to get feedback and share their practice, as it were.”
Antimatter [Media Art]
October 18 to November 3
Various locations and prices
antimatter.ws