RBBC

Two folks who think and make and investigate and create and play. 

[rbbcprojects]

Having a little lie down during Tunnel Vision Testing take 2! Is there even much to see up there?

[rbbcprojects]

We've been picking out details and doing drawings, in the hope that the other can locate the detail through the marks in the building. We've been mapping the routes and recording the times. Have you ever noticed this section of the Barbican Arts Centre before? Would you be able to locate it and take us to it? 

[rbbcprojects]

Its the language of culture, over the language of location?

[rbbcprojects]

Observed during testing! More analogue pals and analogue hackers.

Details of paper bag head adventures soon!  

[rbbcprojects]

Every time I see that man he is picking his nose. It's usually his left nostril. I've got used to it.

[rbbcprojects]

DUCKS 1st encounter. R: Look, there's ducks. Where did they come from? B: Oh yeah! R: I guess those are ducklings with their fluffy little feathers. B: Look at their wee feet! R: The little ones aren't so good at feeding. Mum is just watching away" ... 2nd encounter. B: Oh hello duck friends! R: Ducks! 

[rbbcprojects]

A wee bit of super-speedy success in a location spotting test. Chuffed.  "I feel I'm walking more purposefully. I think I recognise the setup. There's only one place I've seen bottles so I'm heading to that place."

[rbbcprojects]

Our trusty tunnel-vision viewer has been in the wars. But a wee patch up and he's as good as new and ready for another day.

[rbbcprojects]

Do we stop seeing what is familiar because it is inconsequential? If we are interacting with an unfamiliar space or system does the lack of knowledge of potential results keep us more aware? Primal survival instincts. You can't possibly process all that your senses gather and so your brain learns what to process and what to base on past experiences (Horizon: Illusions).

[rbbcprojects]

Is it possible to imagine an unfamiliar place?

[rbbcprojects]

The Barbican is a big space. Like a city you have never visited before. How easy is it to become familiar with such a space? Is it easier to familiarise yourself with a restricted zone? Tunnel vision within a larger space. How long does it take? What counts as 'being familiar'? We've made some tunnel vision goggles to try help us understand. A nice wee bit of DIY-ware modification via the trusty cereal box. Each guided blind to a spot and given 5 seconds to see. And then draw. How familiar did we get? How well did we remember? Is it just a memory test? How much of familiarity is intertwined with memory? Memories of what you see and smell and taste and hear. Memories that tell you how to get from here to there. Can you be familiar with the layout of a space but not with the decor? Do different people notice different things? What sort of a familiar are you? 

[rbbcprojects]

Both of rbbc were a little out of sorts yesterday, so were forced to work from home. Which meant a lot of discussion, and not much testing. Little snippets of conversations to figure out what it is exactly that we're researching. So many theories on familiarity, and really, whether is exists or not.

What does familiarity mean to you?

[rbbcprojects]

'To hear it is necessary to listen, Listening with eyes closed, we think, we reconstruct. This is also re-presented in reverse, as our brain reinterprets what our retina transmits to us, inverted.' - Fabien Lerat, 'Revolution of an Azimuth' 2006

Today is the first day of our residency, R is feeling under the weather so im going in alone. Which is a little daunting. A lot of our pre planned tests and tasks require both of us to be present, in order to monitor our growing sense of familiarity in the space. However, its important to use the time we have, given that it is a short residency. Im going in to suss out the space, and will test R on her ideas of what a space is and logical comparisons between spacial sounds and images - through what will be abstract data, with blind responses. Im going to gather sound through cassette records;  which will no doubt be muffled and mutilated slightly by the sheer amount of dust my tape recorder manages to attract. And photographs of the space from where the recording is made. I shall ask R to match these sounds and images up, prior to being in the space. 

Wee lost thing with a tape deck meandering around a macbook central space.

[rbbcprojects]

Getting ready to begin the testing. I feel like it'd be apt if we had lab coats.

[rbbcprojects]

Fabien Lerat, 'Revolution of an Azimuth' 2006

'In a sealed off space, where you lose your sense of direction, where youre thrown off balance, where the world is a whirl, the only thing you can do is concentrate your hearing, to become at ease again.'

[rbbcprojects]

Paul Sermon, 'Hidden Voices' 2006

'..While memories in synch with the archetypal concept of the venue induce the expansion of the subconscious, constructing an aesthetic of imagined memories in relation to the venue.'

[rbbcprojects]

Well Hello Barbican! We'll be in residence at the Barbican Centre from Monday August 12th until Sunday August 18th; exploring the sense of familiarity we can source within the space over the week.

Neither of rbbc have ever been in the Barbican before, so we've lots to explore and see and sense. With the intention of building a familiarity toolkit, this project shall expand beyond this residency; this week acting as our initial research stage. Blind testing.  

We're part of the Hack the Barbican project. There's lots of really interesting and exciting projects happening in and around the building throughout August. Pop by. And if you see us, come see if you can help us become Famillionaires!