Ext1 is an interactive sound installation by Nathan Harmer centred round the nostalgic qualities of magnetic tape, particularly VHS.
The piece takes place in a darkened room lit simply by the flicker of a cathode-ray tube television set playing back a video tape loop spliced together from videos found discarded in the street. As the loop runs it gradually degrades over time engaging the audience in repeating hypnotic visual glitches.
With large clusters of tape hanging from the ceiling to enhance the atmosphere, a motion sensor is used to detect both the differences in lighting from the television flicker and the movements of the audience within the space. These fluctuations and reactions directly affect the transformations of three cassette tape loops that complete the constructed atmosphere.
The audience is encouraged to take a moment to be immersed by these phasing cycles and consider their relationship to the ever evolving mediums we use to document, entertain and escape and the technological casualties that arise from this progression.
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