ALT-W, New Media Scotland

Programme_Alt-w Awards Announcement
Paparazzi

Following the exhibition Alt-w: New Directions in Scottish Digital Culture at the Centre for Contemporary Art in Glasgow, New Media Scotland is proud to announce that the following eight projects are the recipients of the 2008/09 Alt-w awards.



Production Award: Cybraphon
Ziggy Campbell, Simon Kirby & Tommy Pearman (Found)
found-electronics.net

Inspired by the nickelodeon this is an interactive version of a mechanical band in a box. Consisting of a series of robotic instruments housed in a glass display case, Cybraphon will behave like a real band. Image conscious and emotional, the bands performance will be effected by online community opinion.



Production Award: Mutsugoto
Tomoko Hayashi and Stefan Agamanolis (Distance Labs)
www.distancelab.org

A communication system for long distance lovers. Unlike mobile phones, e-mail or SMS messages which use generic interfaces in business-like contexts, Mutsugoto allows distant partners to communicate through the language of touch as expressed on the canvas of the human body.



Production Award: The Loop
Wendy McMurdo & Paul Holmes
www.wendymcmurdo.com/

Exploring the relationship between digital gaming, fantasy and play examining the nature of interactivity itself. Alt-w will fund the creation of an experimental film which will delve into the psychological state of the player of a kinetic figure-skating computer game.



Production Award: A Short Film about War
Thompson & Craighead

www.thomson-craighead.net

A documentary made entirely from information found on the world wide web. In ten short minutes viewers are taken around the world to a variety of war zones as seen through the collective eyes of the online photo sharing community Flickr, and as witnessed by military and civilian bloggers.



R&D Award - project2891
Benjamin Dembroski
www.dembroski.net

A system that encourages engagement from less technically experienced artists in the development of both hardware and software solutions for nodal device art installations. The simple user interface will provide control of connected hardware, as well as other nodes via the Internet. A series of free workshops will explain how to use the system and suggest how it might be modified for creative applications.



R&D Award - A Million Lies;
Once and Only Revealed After Death
Alex Hetherington
www.alexhetherington.com

Researching the nature, psychology, construction, philosophy and consequences of lying. The work will include the construction of personality, identity and personal truth and will explore cultural forms that employ fakery, sham, scams and deliberate misinformation. This research will lead to exploration of these themes both online and through performance.



R&D Award - Aeolia
Sarah Kettley

www.sarahkettley.com

This project explores the nature of space and place and will examine the concept of a bodily connection with the land through sketch prototyping of stretch sensors in sculptural textile forms. The resulting series of woven pieces for the body will be remotely connected to three-dimensional forms in the Scottish landscape, combining information from each to create unique low frequency feedback to be experienced by the wearer.



R&D Award - Imagine 3D
Emma Tolmie
www.emmatolmie.co.uk

Assuming the role of digital voyeur, visionary and creator the artist will explore the potential and the practical limits of a retro-futuristic subversion of the experience and aesthetics of film. Mixing low-tech gadgetry and high-tech imagery she is developing a heads-up display and unique digital content that re-imagines the concept of stereoscopic imaging.



The distribution of Alt-w awards is managed by New Media Scotland and funded by Scottish Screen and Scottish Arts Council.