DUST AT NEW MEDIA GALLERY | 2023

minus 1240 cars, plus 12400 sensors, 80 countries, 57 community labs, 1 gallery, 2 screens, 4 VR stations, 4µg/m³ PM2.5

NEW WESTMINSTER, CANADA
June 3 – August 13, 2023

Michael Saup & Matevž Kolenc

4 Module VR Installation with video projection

DUST VR by Michael Saup makes use of virtual reality (VR) to represent, explore and confront the great scourge of urban particulate matter on earth. Using software programmed by the artist, the artwork technology is used to interpret and connect particulate emissions from 10 separate dust sensors installed throughout New Westminster, as well as show us emission-landscapes from sensors dotted throughout the world. Using a VR Head-set, the visitor to the gallery is able to enter the space of each sensor location. We are dropped into an uncanny, landscape, integrated from open-source street locations and real-time (citizen-collected) data, representing the real-time, movements and levels of dust air pollution at that spot. It is an aestheticized experience; at once captivating and horrifying . The score by Matevž Kolenc haunts this liminal, performance-private space, reminiscent of dystopian sci-fi; underlining the real-world threat of particulate dust on future lives and future cities.