The Mixer: The Ultimate Skate Activity Centre

The installation consists of a model of a quarter pipe with photo-resistor sensors embedded in the surface. When someone walks or skates on the ramp they set of the sensors that controll a bank of sound samples, thus the participant can DJ a mix of music by moving over the ramp. This proposes skateboarding as a creative (rather than destructive) activity and draws out the relationship between skateboarding and DJ culture.
All of the sound samples are taken from the popular video game "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2" and people are encouraged to play the game. The video game provides an opportunity for non-skaters to interact with skateboarding as well as for social interaction. Although video games are assumed to be an anti-social activity, they can be rewarding group activities. I was in residence at the Dunlop Art Gallery for 6 weeks, during which time I played this video game with gallery visitors. The game facilitated conversation and even when we were silent I felt that we were communicating through the activity of our characters on the screen. Even someone playing the game alone could be involved in a social and communicative activity. I reconstructed the skatepark that I grew up skating in Kamloops as well as a character representing myself as a teenager. When the skater performs certain tricks in defined areas of the park in the game, bits of my history as a girl skateboarder growing up in Kamloops will flash on the screen.