An art/archtiecture/city based installation by a group of swiss contemporary artists C.Piguet, A.Schneider and S.Thommen who go under the name of collectif caught our eye this morning.

The piece known as ‘Circus’ deals in a very unusual way the construction of space. The video work is based on digital photos of a busy square in Geneva that the artistsdissembled into layers and subjected to digital animation.

In the words of collectif – the installation shows a constantly moving view of the city that seems to be disintegrating. Set pieces of urban architecture, logos and passers-by float incalculably and vertiginously towards the viewers.

On the basis of the photographic document of a real city, the artists create a three dimensionality that refers indirectly to the virtual 3D worlds of computer games, while at the same time deconstructing the unambiguity and coherence of their spatial order and hyperrealistic graphics.

In addition, the work refers to the way in which we appropriate urban structures. The accelerated movement and navigation in the public space, results in the non-linear perception of our environment, the associative scanning of distinctive points of reference and landmarks and striking details.

The movie below is particularly interesting with regards its composition and use of layers:

Accordingly, the customary conception of the city as a homogeneous, clearly structured unified whole, the basis of two-dimensional postcard vistas and the cartographic urban model, gives way to a fragmentary, fleeting, dynamic picture of urban space.

For more details and other installations see the collectif website.