The Art Box Project presents Kaleb Bennett
Sky Noise Map: proposal for a public artwork where Bennett considers the hidden implications of tracking and navigating technologies, in particular the Global Positioning System. The Art Box Project presents Kaleb Bennett
Sky Noise Map: proposal for a public artwork where Bennett considers the hidden implications of tracking and navigating technologies, in particular the Global Positioning System.Bennett explores ideas of paranoia, conspiracy theory, panoptic surveillance, loss of anonymity and privacy, technological intrusion and discordances between the artificial and the natural; "the physical reality of a system such as GPS, when looked at from afar, can be both chilling and impressive - or perhaps absurd".

The grassy mound (near the lagoon), Wellington Waterfront, December 2nd-20th 2003

Proudly sponsored by the Wellington Waterfront

The 'stuff' of "Sky Noise Map" is physically contained within the Art Box, but is comprehended in conjunction with the vantage point afforded by the grassy mound. The work is "constructed without any sheen of decency or visual politeness: a level of visibility that the systems referenced by the work do not have"; it's sculptural wiry guts suspended, dormant, until it is illuminated at dusk, becoming "a sort of beacon; a 3-D (dis)information panel; a trig point". "Sky Noise Map" locates a point on the map of Wellington, from which Bennett references the greater cityscape.

"As a proposal for a public artwork, "Sky Noise Map" functions as a brazen gesture in the midst of a city landscape densely populated by slick public sculptures, vapid advertising messages, and corny seasonal light displays. Thinking of the work on a larger scale, one gets a feeling for what it represents and the possibilities it contains. Such possibilities combat the city's presiding values regarding format and landscape, and poses the question "who decides what goes where, and why?" The hill is slated for demolition/redevelopment, and I wanted to use the site in a positive, interesting way while it still exists - to prove what can be done in the urban public arena. The Art Box Project in general functions as an excellent indicator of such possibilities".

Kaleb Bennett is a Wellington based artist, with recent works concentrating on sound installation. He has participated in numerous exhibitions, including solo shows: "Dislocation (Silence)" as part of
Wellington Fringe NZ Festival 2003, and "Interference" a sound/object installation at Enjoy Public Art Gallery, Wellington. Overseas works include "Disposable Artworks" in 2001, in which art works were made
and gifted to the public in Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Tangier. He has worked collaboratively with many artists, including Eugene Hansen, at Hirschfeld Gallery, in "Port Replicator".

Artists interested in producing a work for the Art Box Project need to submit their proposal by January 4th 2004.

The Wellington Waterfront has partnered the Art Box Project Trust to bring 'Sky Noise Map' to the Waterfront. The Trust also thanks Wellington City Council and Creative NZ for their support of the Project through the Creative Communities scheme.

For further details please check out our website or contact:

The Art Box Project
www.artbox.org.nz
artbox@artbox.org.nz
PO Box 24-401, Manners St, Wellington.