ENCORE
Mixed media, performance - Montréal, Québec, Canada, 2006
Stamped paper, envelopes, helium, balloons, tactical police squadron.
Mixed media, performance - Montréal, Québec, Canada, 2006
Stamped paper, envelopes, helium, balloons, tactical police squadron.
This is a project which very nearly ended with my death.
It seems a rather stupid project for other reasons altogether now, yet it was conceived at a point where I was obsessing over the idea of randomization, space, and community.
In short, I had thought up an idea to try and assemble a group, or draw correspondence from a set of random people by sending out a mass quantity of helium balloons with directions and invitations. I put a phenomenal amount of work into a my mail out campaign. Hand placed rubber text on a self inking stamper was used to set the address text block onto each of the self addressed stamped envelopes.
The inside text reads:
You are invited to participate in an art project that uses helium balloons to collect information from a random group of people. Should you decide to get involved, your contributions will form part of an exhibition to which you will be invited at a later date. If you are not interested, please pass this along to a friend.
To participate: please submit any of the following using the self addressed, stamped envelope: A photo/ self portrait / or approximation of likeness; also please tell me about your neighbor.
It seems a rather stupid project for other reasons altogether now, yet it was conceived at a point where I was obsessing over the idea of randomization, space, and community.
In short, I had thought up an idea to try and assemble a group, or draw correspondence from a set of random people by sending out a mass quantity of helium balloons with directions and invitations. I put a phenomenal amount of work into a my mail out campaign. Hand placed rubber text on a self inking stamper was used to set the address text block onto each of the self addressed stamped envelopes.
The inside text reads:
You are invited to participate in an art project that uses helium balloons to collect information from a random group of people. Should you decide to get involved, your contributions will form part of an exhibition to which you will be invited at a later date. If you are not interested, please pass this along to a friend.
To participate: please submit any of the following using the self addressed, stamped envelope: A photo/ self portrait / or approximation of likeness; also please tell me about your neighbor.
These envelopes were then placed into neat little packages which were tied to large helium balloons.
I rented a helium tank to inflate the balloons but did so in the middle of a park - it was late fall. I quickly froze my fingers and couldn't work fast enough to produce and release a large cloud of inflated balloons so I decided to move the project back indoors at my apartment, a walk-up in central downtown Montréal Canada.
I rented a helium tank to inflate the balloons but did so in the middle of a park - it was late fall. I quickly froze my fingers and couldn't work fast enough to produce and release a large cloud of inflated balloons so I decided to move the project back indoors at my apartment, a walk-up in central downtown Montréal Canada.
While I was busy working on inflating the balloons, it seems I would have at least one or three break - either from being overinflated or simply unstable. I became somewhat discouraged and distracted by street noise from a commotion that was occurring outside my apartment. As I opened the door to examine what all the noise was, I was greeted by a violent incident response team that had closed the street, positioned snipers on rooftops and were all training their aim directly at my head as I stepped outside. The exploding balloons has been mistaken as gun fire, and a tactical team had secured a perimeter around my apartment and prepared to take out the "shooter".
What followed was my forceful take down under nervous police direction, then a search and sweep of my apartment. What occurred to me later was that I would definitely have been shot had a balloon happened to explode as I opened the door.
Unbeknownst to all - I had a video camera set in position to document my "project".
What follows are some video stills from the mishap I called Encore.
For all that work, and brush with death, I received one returned envelope.
This was by no means, what I had in mind when thinking of assembling random members of community from a disparate neighborhood. Not so ironically, all policemen seen here were my neighbors from the 21st precinct down the street.
Unbeknownst to all - I had a video camera set in position to document my "project".
What follows are some video stills from the mishap I called Encore.
For all that work, and brush with death, I received one returned envelope.
This was by no means, what I had in mind when thinking of assembling random members of community from a disparate neighborhood. Not so ironically, all policemen seen here were my neighbors from the 21st precinct down the street.
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf6.myportfolio.com/cf2fc5a694928ab3883c64f41a64d4b8/a468f12f8e2be59a4d8d29da_rw_1920.jpg?h=1a68b0ef353fb4e83713c73d092f75b4)
Video still: Set of selected images, project in rough sequence.
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Video still: Stacked invitations with stamps
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Video still: Inside detail of invitation, printed in french and english
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Video still
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Video still: First launch of helium balloons with attached messages
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Video still: First launch of helium balloons with attached messages
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf1.myportfolio.com/cf2fc5a694928ab3883c64f41a64d4b8/20395565c6091a1b6ce2a235_rw_600.jpg?h=229d7c322ea48cfba4f414fef81d7705)
Video still: Working from inside the apartment
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Video still: Carefully placing balloon to avoid explosion.
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf.myportfolio.com/cf2fc5a694928ab3883c64f41a64d4b8/864dd4bd71d2eefb66f687be_rw_1200.jpg?h=3cb44f28abfcccd51d858ddf397ea5eb)
Video still: Policeman, too dumb to look in window before entry, notice helium tank, exploded balloons all over floor, and video camera.
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf6.myportfolio.com/cf2fc5a694928ab3883c64f41a64d4b8/7096b659da8698268037961e_rw_1200.jpg?h=3b1b368840c57b0e2f5031dde0cf5769)
Video still: Still clueless
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Video still: Backup dummy
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf6.myportfolio.com/cf2fc5a694928ab3883c64f41a64d4b8/7f5f4d8219c735cb35869397_rw_1200.jpg?h=7c77dffaa7b0ed49bc59246c7b4d303b)
Video still: Getting an apology free lecture on why I should feel bad for almost getting shot over an art project.
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf6.myportfolio.com/cf2fc5a694928ab3883c64f41a64d4b8/0a7834390f157e76306026af_rw_1200.jpg?h=ac6cf865c1860a87223a5367bbc39a5d)
Video still: Balloon launch minutes after police raid.
![](https://pro2-bar-s3-cdn-cf4.myportfolio.com/cf2fc5a694928ab3883c64f41a64d4b8/f7e3cc1c19147cb5850dae7f_rw_1200.jpg?h=1024f204aa401c37343cc6bec7013fdb)