PARC

Is it possible to create a public debate on urban space - around town and on the Internet? A debate that reaches out to a wider audience than the traditional exhibition form where the viewer only meets a work in a confined physical space removed from the context of the exhibited project. Is it possible to create a virtual extension of exhibition space and simultaneously involve the spectators in the manufacturing process as active and interacting users of the exhibit space? These were some of the questions we asked ourselves when developing the concept for ​​the project [parc] at Nørrebro in central Copenhagen in 2002.

Technologically [parc] was based on a discussion about augmented reality, which means that the physical world, we usually move in is augmented with an added digital dimension or layers of digital information. In the project we experimented with different notions of AR to create a public exhibition space in an area designated for the development of a park area for the residents of Nørrebro.

The project consisted of a physical cube printed with 4 different characters [p, a, r, and c] and a user guide inviting the viewer to enter an Internet address where he or she had various opportunities to expand the traditional poster as a means of communication. By installing a piece of software from www.kollision.dk/parc and using a laptop and a webcam it was possible for the user to participate in the public debate. The camera could record and understand letters [p, a, r, and c] and create a digital space around the physical cube, allowing users to co-create the exhibition space.