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Marlene MacCallum

WorkCollaborations Twenty Configurations

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Marlene: Twenty Configurations was made in collaboration with Matthew Hollett. The text and images initially developed for the artist’s book Theme and Permutation have been reconfigured to become an interactive web-based piece. These two works are the Alpha and Omega of my SSHRC funded project on Artists’ Publishing. The corporeal book created in collaboration with Clif Meador explored printing permutations and layering of images and text. Matthew Hollett conceived of and designed the interactive structure of this web-based piece. He insightfully transformed twenty pages into twenty image bands and text phrases that the viewer can explore through digital interfaces. As you move a computer mouse over the monitor or your finger over the touchscreen, the image flickers. As you click or tap, the image resolves into a single space. The mutability of image-memory is echoed by the ever-changing nature of the interaction.

Matthew: Marlene asked me to think about adapting her Permute book for the web. What struck me most about the images were the Venetian blinds, which are very tactile devices. The vinyl slats create a rippled surface that is receptive to idly running a finger along, or pulling down a slat to peer through. I wanted the interactive work to feel similarly seductive. The almost accidental action of moving a mouse or finger vertically across the frame triggers various configurations of images and text. As the user’s explorations generate juxtapositions of windows and rooms, the story of the Townsite house gradually unfolds.