A Suitable Den

Inspired by an ongoing obsession with urban wildlife, Graeme Patterson has created an interactive multimedia installation that acts as a durational character portrait of a raccoon displaced in a high-rise office. A Suitable Den deviates from his previous narrative-based work by staging an interactive situation that will be a unique experience for each viewer.

Entering the Project Room, the visitor is inside a small lobby with chairs and a table placed opposite a glass barrier. Beyond the glass is a virtual construction of a 1970s-style office occupied by a stop-motion animated raccoon. Its reason for being there is unclear, as is its routine and relationship to the viewer. The raccoon is influenced by our presence in the room but remains in control of its random computer-generated patterns. Through the use of video game-based software this animated environment is responsive in real time, engaging the viewer as a simulated performance.

For the duration of the exhibition the artist will have remote access to the virtual space and its occupant. While interfering with the raccoon’s behaviour the artist will be unaware of the viewer’s presence. The viewer may or may not be cognizant of this daily occurrence, depending on how the behaviour of the raccoon changes when the artist takes control. The relationship between the viewer, the raccoon, and the artist lacks direct communication, even though they are all active participants in this exchange.

As time passes the raccoon will become more familiar with its surroundings. Evidence of the relationship between the raccoon and its adopted environment exists in the animal’s apparent displeasure with its cage-like situation. As it scratches, tears, and stains the walls and the floor, the false nature of the virtual space will be exposed along with the raccoon’s behaviour.