‘Photo Fun Booth’ comes to town!

Saturday, 22 June 2013 06:21 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

By David Ebert Q: What is your whole idea behind the Photo Fun Booth concept? A: Public Art or Taking Art to the Public is a concept the Collective of Contemporary Artists (CoCA) is keenly working on. The aim of CoCA is to make art accessible, thought provoking, influential and impacting to the public, in an effortless everyday situation. ‘Photo Fun Booth’ is inspired by the late 1920s photo booths. The booth’s fun and interactive qualities set the stage for the public to

express themselves and explore the multiple roles individuals play according to the different life situations. It encourages dialogue and it encourages openness and acceptance. The theatrical atmosphere of the ‘Photo Fun Booth’ creates a fantasy-based movement in which magical elements are blended into a realistic atmosphere in order to access a deeper understanding of reality. The interactive Photo Fun Booth is a treat for the general public and is present as combination of different funky props and personalised gifts to suit any party madness. Members of the public are encouraged to use the props and strike a pose to fulfil their hearts desires and to live their fantasy moment. Through photography we immortalise those single moments of pure happiness. Q: Your last exhibition was titled ‘Beyond Perception’ and it got people to take a much closer look at art through getting them to interact with each piece. How important is interactivity in your chosen form of expression? A: Interactive art is a genre of art in which the viewers participate in some way by providing an input in order to determine the outcome. Unlike traditional art forms wherein the interaction of the spectator is merely a mental event, interactivity allows for various types of navigation, assembly, and/or contribution to an artwork, which goes far beyond purely psychological activity. Therefore, Poornima Jayasinghe and I, we both use interactivity as a medium to produce the meaning of the work. Q: You’ll be at the Fete De la Musique with your photo booth. What do you plan to do there? A: We will introduce elements of ‘Fete De la Musique’ for our open style Photo Fun Booth by introducing new props and creating a very theatrical atmosphere where anybody can freely express and enjoy. With our instant photo print service, people can preserve the memories of the very special day. Q: What’s next after the Photo Fun Booth in terms of future art projects? A: We are working on an ongoing travelling project ‘Nomads’ with other CoCA artists to explore how cultural traditions interact in diverse locations in Sri Lanka. The next event of the project will be held at the CMC building Pettah on 8, 9 and 10 August 2013, which is funded by the Goethe-Institut, the cultural institute of the Federal Republic of Germany with a global reach. Future projects will expand to the diverse locations in Sri Lanka such as Jaffna, Galle Fort, Cultural Triangle and the indigenous village Dambana and we will exhibit our art work in various public places as a social service of sorts; places freely accessible to the public. Q: Do you plan to do this commercially and how much of a response have you had with the Photo Fun Booth? A: We do the Photo Fun Booth as a fundraiser for CoCA and there is a popular demand for the Photo Fun Booth because of its unique qualities. We are getting lots of enquiries to set the Photo Fun Booth for various events such as parties, weddings corporate events, festivals, etc. Our personalised gift items such as canvas prints and mugs are a hit among many. Lots of people come to our studio for personal photo shoots which is a unique feature in our photo fun booth.