Palimpsest #08 presents Finitude (Mallee: Time) v01 — a new media art/ sculptural/ sound hybrid by Keith Armstrong, et al :: September 10-11, 2011 :: The Ka-Rama Motel, Room 22, Deakin Ave, Mildura, Australia.

Situated on the main drag, The Ka-Rama Motel is just like every other ubiquitous motel that you’ve ever stayed in: all 70s decor, floral linen and mistuned television sets. But this time the darkened room 22 contains a strange structure over the bed: a circular holographic touchscreen that participants can lie underneath on the clean floral sheets, revealing mysterious 3D landscapes and forms via a unique, circular touch sensitive screen, that also magically reveals a complex series of motorised dioramas, turning continuously high above the bed accompanied by 4 channel interactive sound.

Finitude (Mallee: Time) v01 acknowledges that we as a species are finite; it re-positions ‘time left’ as a plastic medium that we can each choose to ‘give to’ or ‘take away’.

BACKGROUND: Curated as a national premiere into this years’ significant Mildura Palimspest #08 (Australia’s longest running site-specific art festival) by Kristian Haggblom and Helen Vivian, the work appears for this first version above a motel bed, in Room 22 of the ubiquitous 70’s Ka-Rama Motel. The Palimpsest each year goes from strength to strength, this year featuring over 100 national and international artists including award winning writer and artist Paul Carter (AUS), Tracey Moffatt (AUS) the Chin Pom Collective (JPN) and Venice Biennial artists Ken and Julia Yonetani and Tuomas Laitinen (FI).

Created in close collaboration with senior sound artist/composer Roger Dean (austraLYSIS), artist/designer Stuart Lawson (ex Intimate Transactions/Knowmore House of Commons) and 3D programmer Darren Pack (ex.Knowmore House of Commons).

Finitude (Mallee:Time) has been supported by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and avisory body and has received financial assiatnce from the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, QUT Creative Industries Faculty, Mildura Arts Centre and Palimpsest #08.