CORNERS ( 2002)
‘CORNERS’ , by visual artist Sara Blokland, was developed and commissioned by Theater Stella as a visual installation for the theater’s foyer. Visitors will experience the work over the course of a year.
Corners is a site-specific work in and around the Stella theater, there are 5 color surveillance cameras. The spots are chosen so that no specific features of the building are visible, creating an abstraction of the space. A relationship is created between the space depicted and the physical experience of the space. Three cameras are placed in areas where the audience passes by without lingering: the square outside the entrance to the building, the hallway to the foyer, and the staircase to the theater hall. Another camera is directed at the sky, capturing light and dark, and the last camera is placed in the foyer above a specially created table.
Blokland conceptualized the space as a sculptural entity in which the audience played an integral role. The feeds from these cameras were displayed on five monitors suspended high above the visitors in the foyer. Every 45 seconds, the display alternated between live footage, previously recorded images of the audience, and fictional scenes in collaboration with the Stella performers. This layering of temporal and perceptual realities was further nuanced by the continuous temporal shifts in the recorded footage, ensuring no repetition of images.
Additionally, a sixth screen, positioned at eye level, featured a young woman continuously gazing into the space. This element was a live, unedited recording of an individual staring directly into the camera for an hour.
Corners functioned as a dynamic and evolving piece, with new images being periodically incorporated throughout the year.