Sky vs SKYPE
SKYPE vs. Night Sky (2011) was a telematic drawing performance by Maryclare Foa, Jane Grisewood, Birgitta Hosea and Carali McCall that connected London and the island of Papay Westray as part of the Papay Gyro Nights Festival in Orkney.
The initial concept for this work came from Carali McCall, who contrasted the ancient method of navigation that uses stars in the night sky with modern telecommunications satellites that can connect locations at the speed of light.
During this performance, a camera in Papa Westray was pointed at the night sky and transmitted video images and atmospheric sound live via SKYPE to London. The video feed was projected over a whole wall in a gallery space and the group made spontaneous drawings over the projection as they charted the passage of the moon through the night sky from Papay Westray. A camera in London recorded the live drawings as they were created and returned a live video feed back to Papay Westray via SKYPE, where it was projected onto a wall as part of the Festival’s Opening Night. Thus the live video footage was originated in Papay Westry, drawn over in London and the modified images returned and displayed back in Papay Westry.
Materials used included graphite powder, pencil, water, chalk and white light from a torch. The performance featured spoken word commentary transmitted by a second SKYPE feed from Jane Grisewood, who was in Australia at the time.
Documentation: https://drawntogether.wordpress.com/2011/02/19/skype-vs-night-sky-pictures/