The Digital Divide (2012)
Semaphore flag signal videos installed on the Internet, transmitted to the viewer via QR codes on the gallery wall, emphasizes the digital divide that is currently prevailing in our global culture. Working on the assumption that most viewers of this piece will not be able to read the semaphore signals as letters, and that there will also be a number of viewers who will not have the relevant technology to read the QR codes, the piece will have effectively alienated the viewer from at least one critical portion of the piece, therefore encompassing both ends of the digital divide.
Each video is a sentence spelled out, letter by letter, using semaphore flag signals. The location is a clue to what the sentence says and by scanning the corresponding QR codes, the viewer can read what each video says as the QR codes are placed in a pattern where each sentence, spelled out in English, corresponds to the video QR code. The work addresses issues about the environment, further underscoring the idea of how technology is a major force in the rapid increase of climate change.