An Elevated Platform

An Elevated Platform is an interactive installation for galleries and indoor spaces of public throughflow.

The work reflects on our physical presence, and what it means to perform in front of a modern audience, raising questions about how we move our bodies and the value placed on these actions. True to ‘Warhol’s’ Fifteen Minutes of Fame, An Elevated Platform gives everyone an opportunity to elevate their status and ‘perform’ to a responsive ‘crowd’ who praise and celebrate their idol’s every movement through a diversity of audience sounds (applause, cheering, etc). However, continued stardom is not as easy as it first seems. Unwitting performers have to keep moving to sustain interest, any slowing down is met with increasing discontent from the crowd. A kind of dysfunctional Karaoke for the body, An Elevated platform echoes a world saturated with social media, where every action we make is both celebrated and scrutinised in equal measure; where responses are often polarised, and attention spans diminished.

Details

The piece comprises a 4’ square steel deck , a section of red theatrical curtain, a theatre spotlight focused onto the square that brightens and dims depending on the presence of the visitor, and an interactive soundtrack of applause and audience reactions played over adjacent loudspeakers that also responds to the participant’s actions.

Presentations

2024 Brighton Festival

2023 Brighton Dome (work in progress)

Credits

Conceived and Created by: Nic Sandiland

Producers: Flexer & Sandiland / Madaline Wilson

Supported by Arts Council England, The Brighton Dome