Kevin Carter/Media 19 - Landscape/Portrait
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A collaboration between artist Kevin Carter, Media 19 and the University of Teesside, Landscape/Portrait is an online project and public campaign that challenges official statistics to create a new and unique portrait of North East England, and potentially other communities and regions across the UK.
Statistical models of communities based on postcode area are used frequently in the planning and design of public services and regeneration projects. These statistics categorise the people living in a place, and their lifestyles, into one of fifty–six social and economic stereotypes. This online project and public campaign sets out to question and explore if communities can really be reduced to such simple sets of data.
The project website (www.landscape-portrait.com) and public campaign invites members of the public to view and respond to their demographic stereotypes by recording their own personal video portraits; in the process, the project evaluates the authenticity of demographics, and presents a unique view of the citizens and communities of the North East of England.
In creating Landscape/Portrait, media artist Kevin Carter, working with Media19, presented three communities across the region with demographic stereotypes for their area. A set of questions was devised that were the inverse of those used in the last Census survey. These questions provided the structure for a series of films which formed the initial content for the website www.landscape–portrait.com.
Mapping each portrait geographically, the website invites visitors to record and post their own portraits or simply search for portraits by postcode, username, questions answered, or leave comments and join in the debate.
Landscape/Portrait invites citizens to think about whom they are, how they are and what they would like the places they live to be like.
The project was presented at the Dott 07 Festival, Gateshead Quays, 16 – 28 October, where visitors were able to contribute to the website using the webcams and laptops available on site, and the short self–portrait films, produced with the residents of the three North East communities of Seaham, North Ormesby and Gateshead, were screened. To create a video portrait at home you will need a basic webcam and a broadband connection.
A panel discussion presented as part of the Dott 07 Festival took place at Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Level 1, Gateshead Quays on Wednesday 17 October. Speakers included project artist Kevin Carter, and Brian Wilson, Assistant Dean (Enterprise) School of Arts & Media at the University of Teesside and Director of d|lab the Centre for Design and Innovation. The discussion focused on the project's themes and ambitions to explore how data is used to define our communities and design our environment.
Landscape/Portrait is part of Vital Signs, a Dott 07 project.
8 October 2007
Launch of www.landscape-portrait.com
16 – 28 October 2007
Dott 07 Festival
Gateshead Quays
UK
17 October 2007
Landscape/Portrait panel discussion
18:00–20:00
Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Level 1
Gateshead Quays
UK
Produced by Forma
Commissioned by Dott 07
Funded by Design Council and One North East
The project forms part of North East England's world–class festivals and events programme.
www.landscape–portrait.com is also supported by Teesside University and Digital City, and data is supplied by upmystreet.com. Additional support was provided by Digital Knowledge Exchange, d|lab, Fluid Pixels Studio and Babel Digital.
Photo: Karin Coetzee (L)
Landscape/Portrait website
Related links
Kevin Carter
Vital Signs: Town Crying + Landscape/Portrait
Lone Twin – Town Crying
