The art exhibit arrived forty minutes late. It was stuck in gridlock. This seemed an appropriate beginning for Year Zero One’s launch of its site-specific art installation, Teletaxi, which took place as part of the Tranz-Tech Toronto International Media Art Biennial.
Teletaxi plays with the medium of video screens mounted in cabs, a medium originally created for corporate advertising. Instead of being force-fed advertising, passengers of Teletaxi are challenged by the multimedia work of seven artists to analyze the meanings and implications of space and place: the space being the intimate environment of the taxi, the place being the busy, diverse city that flickers through the window. The multimedia work that pops-up on the monitor is triggered by an onboard GPS (global positioning system) receiver, which ensures that the art in the taxi is in constant conversation with the location outside.
My Teletaxi ride began with a calmingly simple black-on-white line animation by Berlin artist Gernot Weiland. The animation of a soothing hand caressing a resting head provided welcome relief to the long-weekend rush-hour chaos unfolding outside.
As we approached Chinatown, music filtered through the speakers that could have been used in a 1930s film to signify the setting of Imperial China. It was the sentimental and stereotypical accompaniment to local artist Camille Turner’s video, which documents her self-crowned persona, Miss Canadiana, on a celebrity tour of Toronto multiculti hotspots. Miss Canadiana hands out Canadian flags and pins as part of her nationalist mission, yet Turner makes clear that this is all very tongue-in-cheek.
As we reach Gaytown, another Turner video pops up. Here, Miss Canadiana makes a celebrity appearance at Zelda’s drag queen show. Her musical accompaniment is the infernal “Hot Stuff”. Turner’s pieces challenge the viewer/passenger to question how urban space is divided: is the designation of formal areas for multicultural groups (Chinatown, Little Italy, etc.) a way of compartmentalizing those groups into dominant stereotypes? Is the granting of ‘areas’ for multicultural groups a cheap substitution for bona-fide integration into Canadian society? These questions suit the medium of the taxi, as it navigates the often-arbitrary borders of cultural communities.
The final piece I was able to see was Michael Alstad (also from Toronto)’s examination of Dundas Square. Though damning the square is already a tired theme, Alstad’s editing is notable, beginning with a busy cut-and-paste sequence that mimics the sensory overload of the intersection and then transforming into a hauntingly slow-paced, Orwellian perspective of the square. In his video short, Alstad questions the purpose of the excessive surveillance in the (nominally) public square through shots of security guards seemingly protecting corporate billboards.
Teletaxi is an excellent example of how sites outside of conventional gallery spaces can enhance the experience of art. It challenges conventional notions of the placement of art while confronting our accepted perspectives of the city.
Teletaxi runs till Oct.31. To book a Teletaxi: Mon-Fri: 416-435-6257. Weekends & Evening: 416-887-3877. www.year01.com/teletaxi
