Transient Spaces The installation work of Mireille Baril by Jesse Birch In the 16th Century Giovanni Battista della Porta, an Italian scientist and writer, held a performance where he invited a group of his friends into a darkened room which had been converted into a camera obscura, and had another group of people enact a drama outside, in front of the lens. The sight of tiny human forms cavorting upside down on a dark wall sent the viewers into panic, and shortly thereafter Della Porta was charged with sorcery. In the late 20th century, a time when mediated images perme- ate our environment, it is doubtful that an image from a cam- era obscura could incite panic, but the experience of being encapsulated within real time images is unquestionably enchanting. In her installation titled The Tele-Photos, artist in residence Mireille Baril has transformed the Western Front's bathroom and gallery space into a site specific work that com- bines conventional camera obscuras, that are directed in and around the building, with pre-recorded and live feed video images from across the country, to create a visual merging of time and space. Upon entering the Western front | noticed that the door to the bathroom was slightly ajar, and even though it seemed the lights were off, there were enthusiastic voices coming from within: “Wow doesn't it look great on the toilet paper?” As | entered the room, and my eyes started to adjust, | noticed translucent images emanating from the stall that the people were examining. The bathroom had been transformed into a camera obscura. | found it interesting that a room which is usually considered a private space would have public space projected within it. It wasn’t until | explored main gallery space that | realised the bathroom was part and parcel of the total installation. Upon entering the gallery space the only tangible construction | noticed consisted of two panoramic sheets of paper suspended across the room. The paper functioned as a screen for the camera obscuras to project onto from behind. On one of the sheets of paper, video images of blurred land- scapes shot through the window of a bus during the artists journey from Montreal to Vancouver are fluently combined with conventional camera obscura images of the apartment building outside of the gallery. The other sheet of paper com- bines myriad images including real time video from Montreal via the Internet, and live video of Vancouver from the upstairs window of the Western Front. The juxtaposition of images from Montreal, where Baril is based, with images of Vancouver and the immediate space of the Western front, articulates the idea that while we are inhabiting any particular space, it is important to acknowledge the influence of the places we have Mireille Barille experienced, and those we are looking to experience. During a conversation with Baril, she explained to me that she has led a transient life, moving approximately every two years, and this piece seems to reflect that experience more than any of her previous works. In a society that has become increasingly mobile on a global scale, this installation deals with issues that are extremely pertinent. Finding myself to be encapsu- lated within the work, | realised that everyone who enters the space is implicit in the function- ing of the installation. One of the images is projected onto the screen from a lens that is directed towards the interior space of the hallway leading into the gallery. As the viewer enters the room their inherent role in the functioning of the installation becomes visually represented within the space itself. On the wall outside of the gallery, Baril cites philoso- pher and scientist Roger Bacon The Tele-Photos (1214-94): “The images appear at the point of contact of light rays with the perpendicular plane, and things appear there, where there was nothing before....images can be thrown into the air, into the atmos- phere, so they may be seen by a crowd of people”. Although we have had the ability to fix images since 1839, the unfixed image is still as fascinating as it was in the 13th century. By using it in combination with contemporary media, Mireille Baril gives renewed life to the camera obscura. 33 ©) Transient S$ The installation work of Mireille Baril by Jesse Birch In the 16th Century Giovanni Battista della Porta, an Italian scientist and writer, held a performance where he invited a ‘group of his friends into a darkened room which had been converted into a camera obscura, and had another group of people enact a drama outside, in front of the lens. The sight of tiny human forms cavorting upside down on a dark wall sent the viewers into panic, and shortly thereafter Della Porta was charged with sorcery. In the late 20th century, a time when mediated images perme- ate our environment, it is doubtful that an image from a cam- era obscura could incite panic, but the experience of being encapsulated within real time images is unquestionably enchanting. In her installation titled The Tele-Photos, artist in residence Mireille Baril has transformed the Western Front's bathroom and gallery space into a site specific work that com- bines conventional camera obscuras, that are directed in and around the building, with pre-recorded and live feed video images from across the country, to create a visual merging of time and space. Upon entering the Western front | noticed that the door to the bathroom was slightly ajar, and even though it seemed the lights were off, there were enthusiastic voices coming from within: “Wow doesn't it look great on the toilet paper?” As | entered the room, and my eyes started to adjust, | noticed translucent images emanating from the stall that the people were examining. The bathroom had been transformed into a ‘camera obscura. | found it interesting that a room which is usually considered a private space would have public space paces Mireille Barille The Tele-Photos experienced, and those we are looking to experience. During a conversation with Baril, she explained to me that she has led a transient life, moving approximately every two years, and this piece seems to reflect that experience more than any of her previous works. In a society that has become increasingly mobile on a global scale, this installation deals with issues that are extremely pertinent. projected within it. It wasn’t until | explored main gallery space that | realised the bathroom was part and parcel of the total installation. Upon entering the gallery space the only tangible construction | noticed consisted of two panoramic sheets of paper suspended across the room. The paper functioned as a screen for the camera obscuras to project onto from behind ‘On one of the sheets of paper, video images of blurred land- scapes shot through the window of a bus during the artists journey from Montreal to Vancouver are fluently combined with conventional camera obscura images of the apartment building outside of the gallery. The other sheet of paper com- bines myriad images including real time video from Montreal via the Internet, and live video of Vancouver from the upstairs window of the Western Front. The juxtaposition of images from Montreal, where Baril is based, with images of Vancouver and the immediate space of the Western front, articulates the idea that while we are inhabiting any particular space, it is important to acknowledge the influence of the places we have Finding myself to be encapsu- lated within the work, | realised that everyone who enters the space is implicit in the function- ing of the installation. One of the images is projected onto the screen from a lens that is directed towards the interior space of the hallway leading into the gallery. As the viewer enters the room their inherent role in the functioning of the installation becomes visually represented within the space itself. On the wall outside of the gallery, Baril cites philoso- pher and scientist Roger Bacon (1214-94): “The images appear at the point of contact of light rays with the perpendicular plane, and things appear there, where there was nothing before....images can be thrown into the air, into the atmos- phere, so they may be seen by a crowd of people”. Although we have had the ability to fix images since 1839, the unfixed image is still as fascinating as it was in the 13th century. By using it in combination with contemporary media, Mireille Baril gives renewed life to the camera obscura. 33) O