Absences electronic interventions in nature

I'm currently in Toronto to present Absences as part of the 13th Annual Subtle Technologies Festival. This year, the event brings together artists, scientists, designers and architects around the theme of sustainability. If you're around, you're welcome to visit the poster exhibition (Innis Hall, Toronto University, 2 Sussex ave) curated by Lorena Salome.

Tuesday morning came into my mailbox a special package charged with a story. Last February, I made contact with Lulu Keatings to help me with the documentation of my project in Yukon. Lulu is an independent filmmaker who lives in Dawson City. I wasn't satisfied with the footage I shot just before leaving Dawson: the images I took with the DV-cam borrowed to SOVA turned out to be ugly, possibly a light ajustment problem and a dirty lens. So I asked Lulu if she would be up for an adventure in the cold wilderness of Crocus Bluff.

A lot has been going on lately. About two weeks ago, my contact in the Laurentians (aka my neighbour in Morin-Heights) has given me the signal I was hectically waiting for: The frogs are back. And they are millions.

I recently had a few ideas about the frog project. I have an issue with the sound: the ambient sounds of nature are usually very low. This has two consequences.

First, the recorded audio of nature sounds is so low that it becomes really noisy, such that we don't really recognize the sound anymore. To put it clearly: the sound is bad...

The video of the prototype of the Third Absence, that was created during the Spring 2009 residency at Avatar, is now available online. The images were shot in Morin-Heights in Summer 2009. View it on this post or on my website.

The "hibernating device" has been installed on the south hill of Crocus Bluff just before my leaving to Beirut. A few of my friends have already seen it. Here are the directions for the people in Dawson who would like to pay it a visit. Please let me know if you enjoy it and if it's still making any sound.

Here's how to get there...

Thursday and Friday, I visited a place near Dawson City called Crocus Bluff. It is right next to my house, about 15-20 minutes walk in the mountains. There is a magnificent view over the city, we can clearly see the confluence of the Klondike and Yukon River.

I saw a ghost. At 7:30 this morning, I was laying in my bed, half awake. I heard a thud against the door of my room, as if one had suddenly thrust his shoulder on it, or had dropped a backpack or a suitcase. The door opened at suddendly, showing a dark, masculine silhouette, slightly bent forward. It then closed, as fast as it had opened.

Did quite a lot of YouTube browsing the other day. Found a few fun "nature flicks" the kind we like. I like the part in the Raven's intelligence test video where they say that the ravens "use their frustration" as a motivation for taking intelligent actions leading to success. And also these flicks about that old tortoise called Lonesome George, last known individual of the Geochelone nigra abingdoni subpsecies on the Galapagos.

Almost a week since I'm here. The sun sets late at this time of year, days are long but they flow like small streams. I had planned to spend the week to settle things with no direct link with the project here, to make a little room for the coming days. And most importantly, begin to get familiar with the terrain.