Dislocation
How does the presence of others, real or imagined, trigger distinct emotional responses?
How much are we really aware of our immediate surroundings as constructed realities?
To what extent are our senses conditioned to interpret situations?
"Dislocation is a mixed reality installation that extends the bounds of sound and image technology to construct and manipulate truths through illusion. The work examines how physical and emotional responses can be induced by controlled artificial environments.
Peering into the portals of Dislocation, we become auto-voyeurs. As we watch, we see and hear scenarios play out behind us but turn around, and the room is empty. The simultaneous presence and absence of these phantoms defies rational thought or experience and creates a haunting atmosphere. Meticulously mapped, and programmed to layer pre-recorded sequences with real-time footage, Dislocation builds an environment of deception and uncertainty. Its subtlety and cunning displaces our reliance upon, and trust of our own distinct emotional responses to the presence of others."

Lizzie Muller in RealTime 70 writes:

"Perhaps the most effective piece in the show was one that put the audience themselves directly within the work and exploited the unique capacity of new media to represent in the same time and space the image of the perceiver perceiving. In Alex Davies’ Dislocation (Australia 2005), 4 small mounted monitors are set back in one wall of an enclosed installation space. You need to approach them closely to see what they are showing. It takes a moment to realise that what you can see is your own back, and those of your neighbours peering at the adjacent monitors. The screen flickers slightly, as if there is a minor disruption in transmission, and someone else enters the gallery, nearer to the camera, talking on a mobile phone. The sense of their presence behind you is spine-tinglingly palpable, as is the illicit feeling that you are eavesdropping on their conversation. But glance over your shoulder and you find the room is empty. The other presence was a phantom, a ghost in the machine. I watched people dissolve in delight over and over again, drag in unsuspecting companions and relish the moment of being duped. Even after this moment of realisation, the images of the ghostly others occasionally behaving in inappropriate ways remains compelling. The small audience shivers at each new arrival like ouija board conspirators."

A detailed report on the work can be downloaded as a .pdf <here> or viewed online <here> Title: Frolicking with Phantoms: Illusion in Mixed Reality, Alex Davies 2006