Abstract
Free of Charge is a participatory artwork that was first presented at the Splore Music Festival in New Zealand in 2012. It is staged as a mock airport security check procedure that is modified to measure visitors’ static electrical charge. Participants pass through the security checkpoint and are measured for charge before being electrically grounded and discharged. The artwork and its site are described in detail and the rationale for the work developed. It is discussed in relation to the post-9/11 security apparatus and the concept of security theatre , and this is contrasted with aspects of the work that deal with health and wellness around static electricity . Through these lenses, response to authority and the internalisation and subversion of roles are examined.
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Notes
- 1.
Guards roster included Julian Priest (artist), Sophie Jerram (curator), Mark Amery (curator), Trudy Lane (volunteer artist).
- 2.
11/9/2001 World Trade Center attacks, formatted here as 9/11 by convention.
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Priest, J. (2018). Free of Charge. In: Cermak-Sassenrath, D. (eds) Playful Disruption of Digital Media. Gaming Media and Social Effects. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1891-6_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1891-6_16
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