Castlefield Gallery in association with Contact present Reactor’s newly commissioned, site-specific project, The Tetra Phase at The Old Fire Station. The Tetra Phase, set in the disused historic building, will present an immersive journey into subjective experience. On each Saturday throughout October, groups of the public will venture into this disconnected environment, known only as ‘The Station’, to interact within an immersive installation. Working together at some points, but in opposition at others, the groups’ journeys will intersect as they locate their individual pathways through the constructed possibilities of this labyrinthine space.
Within The Tetra Phase, meaning is internal and objectivity an impossibility. Beyond the limitations of ‘true’ or ‘false’, all we know is that certain results follow inevitably from certain actions. Participants can book to attend the event only once, so there will be no opportunity to repeat the experience, or take advantage of a wider perspective. As in life, you only get one chance.
However, others will be watching. The omnipresent ‘eye in the sky’, created by a network of CCTV cameras, forms the only position from which a privileged perspective on the event is possible. But who is doing the watching? And for what purpose?
This newly commissioned site-specific project further explores Reactor’s interest in ‘the audience as artwork’. Interpersonal and group dynamics will come to the fore, as participants attempt to reconcile their subjective experiences, and the event expands beyond the confines of ‘The Station’.
The project is a commission for Castlefield Gallery in association with Contact and has been financially supported by Arts Council England, Awards for All and with kind support from Britannia Hotels.
Dates: Saturday 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th October 2007
Times: 12-6pm each day
Venue: Old Fire Station, Manchester (next to Piccadilly Station)