Daniel (2017)

 

How many times a day do you Google something?

 

Daniel is exploration in the arms of technology, commenting on a shift in agency and a handover of control. We trust Daniel because he always takes us to the right place, he tracks us as we move and if we go wrong, he re-routes us immediately. However, Daniel can only take you so far, from A to B. What if I don’t have a destination or a start point?

 

A city can only truly be experienced through getting lost and exploring unknown areas. How are we supposed to do that if we only have Daniel as a tool? His convenience and reliability means we always count on him, but he limits our discovery. To get lost in a city no prior knowledge or familiarity is required, a follow the crowd attitude and a sense of free time needed. Being new to the city presents two options; follow the crowd or follow the map. So, I did both; following 4 strangers I mapped their paths around the city, leading to unfamiliar grounds. The interaction between human, environment and technology is illustrated, as Daniel maps a nonsensical tour with no specific destination or start, about the city, where initial material; the sequence of instructions or directions are sourced from following people within the city. Are we more likely to follow Daniel because he is the voice of Google Maps, rather than rely on another person to take us on a tour?

​

Daniel is a work made earlier this year whilst on an exchange semester in Groningen, Netherlands. I have chosen to re-site this work as I return to Plymouth after 8 months away, attempting to explore and rediscover the city in a new way and encourage others to do the same.

 

Hot Topik, Plymouth Art Weekender 2017

​

1. Take a sticker

2. Choose a starting location

3. Scan the QR code on the sticker

4. Play the audio & follow

5. Stick your sticker at your end destination.

​

The tour has no set starting location or end destination. You are free to choose your own, creating a unique, and individual tour. Where you terminate your tour and place your sticker, may become another’s starting point.