OVERVIEW
ONLINE MEMORIAL / A slightly surreal 3D depiction of the camp mixing photogrammetric captures I have taken over the life of the camp, as well as audio testimonies provided by camp members, and imagery found on social media to create a slightly surreal portrait of the camp and how it confronted visitors with the cyclical nature of the violence inflicted upon the Palestinian people. Footage was also provided by film-maker Leo Palmestal who is currently working on a documentary of the Gazaplatsen encampment and the channel Gatans Parlament which covered on Youtube the first hundred days of the camp.
Visit the prototype here: https://newart.city/show/gazaplatsen-online-memorial
Made using: Blender + BLOSM + Newart.city + Blender plugin + Polycam + Meshy.ai
VERSION HISTORY
| VERSION | NOTES | VISUALS |
|---|---|---|
| V6 | FINALIZATION The piece now has 12 distinct audios that include personal testimonies from camp dwellers, news coverage of events in Gazaplatsen and Gaza, as well as 12 matching 3D items I added as cues to indicate to the viewer there might be something to investigate near them. Following feedback from the previous session, I also added a reveal for anyone venturing inside the building. It’s a photo of a tapestry by Zam Stork, with an excerpt from ‘S is for Silence’ by Maddalena Fragnito, and audio from a statement made by GUSP on the day of the eviction. |   |
| V5 | TESTING WITH STUDENTS In March, I had the chance to give a lecture on my project for a course I was teaching in parallel. After the lecture, students were able to visit the encampment and write postcards to a friend about their visit. The resulting conversations helped me refine the final creation by adding more easter eggs and trying to clarify the symbolism behind the more surrealist elements like the floating tents (about the fluctuation in the camp’s population) or the flying watermelon (symbol of Palestinian resistance and because the seeds will always grow back). |   |
| V4 | SHARPENING THE INTENT Here I played more with navigability: where to get the characters to start, I included a video from the camp’s removal, I also wondered if I should add dates to the different events but decided against it so the space could have more of a surreal, ambiguous atmosphere when being visited. |   |
| V3 | LOOSENING THE CIRCULATION The second version was created to understand the different moving parts: 3D scans + photo collage, sketched annotations, audio bites. This brought me to loosen the original structure based on areas in the map I wanted to call attention too. It also required a lot of planning and coordination with Kamal from Gatans Parlament and Leo who are both working on documentaries of the camp at different times. This phase also included several iterations of the visual tone to arrive at a surrealist, larger than life recounting of the space, without being overbearing or too distracting. This is when I tried to integrate Palestinian embroidery patterns form the Tira Zain repository. |    |
| V2 | TESTING THE BASICS The first prototype was meant to figure out how to stage an interpretation of the Gazaplatsen site with photos, stories, and 3D scans from across the 192 days of existence, that could capture the variety moments, inhabitants, as well as document its occupation of the space as a means of putting pressure on the university. You can find a demo here: https://vimeo.com/1039988242 |   |
| V1 | A REQUEST One day, where I was testing INVESTIGATIVE SANDBOX at Gazaplatsen encampment, I was asked if I could make a public facing, phone friendly digital double of the camp. I had been meaning to try Newart.city so I thought I could make a simple looping walkthrough. To the right is the initial sketch. This helped me my an editorial voice in the depiction of the camp. | .jpg) |