Citysnapper_5_Berlin_show | 2008

The CITYSNAPPER_X project is a sociological and visual approach of main western cities that leads, during a month, to a daily collection of images and inhabitants statements, thus gradually constituting an inter-subjective view of the city. In other words, it builds a portrait of the city, a snapshot of the urban context, by crossing the point of view of the photographer with the ones of the city dwellers. The work can be viewed on the internet through a poly-navigation system, both hypertextual (http) and cartographic, and it can lead to a physical exhibition taking the shape of an interactive media installation.
Confronting the personal view of the photographer to the relationship in-between the city dwellers and their city, the project aims to show a mapping of the social context, and give bases for its analysis. The bipolarity of Citysnapper is a result of an interest for the urban phenomenon, considered under two different aspects:
- the city as a physical construction, translated into photographs.
- the city as a mental – and even imaginary – construction that city dwellers build from their daily contact with it, translated into interviews.
The Web interface weaves then bonds between these data using a system of poly-navigations, so as to give account of the opinions and glances of the inhabitants on their urban reality.

Then an interactive installation is built from the on-line work to show it to an audience in a physical space, like in this video showing the installation made for the Berliners in January 2008, in the Hackeschen Höfe, Berlin Mitte.


Imagine… You’re walking
on top of what used to be the wall.

What do you see? What do you hear?


CITYSNAPPER_5 |Berlin| sHoW is an installation where you can visit Berlin East and West at the same time, and focus on the status of reunification.

It is meant to be a snapshot of the urban context 16 years after the fall of the Berlin wall. How much are the two halves reunited today? There is not one single and easy answer. This is why this subjective portrait of the city was created, bringing together the photographer’s view and the Berliners’ points of view, through images and street interviews collected in 2005.

Take part in the making of the ‘Citysnapper portrait’ of Berlin!
Instead of exploring East then West or the reverse, you are invited to walk on the layout of the former Wall… Locations equidistant from the wall are united as pairs which are metaphorical stitches. Stand on the different hotspots and your footstep will activate the two screens which correspond to East and West. You will be able to see the two locations, translated into either images or statements from Berlin citizens from all social backgrounds. These statements are taken from street interviews and reflect Berlin’s diversity as much as the images.
Add your own statement about what Berlin means to you by sms or e-mail to the installation!
To visualise visitors’ statements, step on the “Reactions” spot, or go online to http://www.o-vanderaa.com/citysnapper5 where you can also view more images, read the full interviews and download them as pdf files.

Tour

01-01-2008 Hackeschen Höfe, Hof III, Rosenthaler Str., Berlin Mitte


project conception & realization: :
Olivier Vanderaa
programming: :
Interface-Z / Sandrine Chiri & Francis Bras
translation: :
Matthew Youlden