When Asian Meets Melbourne
(2010)
makers: Yi-Chieh Tien, Ao Xu and Ee Ling Liew.
This work struggles as it confuses how we are to use it. For example when it opens flags appear as navigation cues, but once you choose one these seem to disappear and be replaces with image thumbnails. Flags are quite abstract things and represent a lot (nationality, cultures, languages and so on) but the images that are of people operate in quite different ways. Mixing modes like this can be difficult to make work. If the nationality is important, why remove it? If it isn't, why have it? The layout shows what happens when interface design and structure is not thought of in terms of a formal structure. The text appears, sort of, where a thumbnail seems to want to be, but as I progress through it sound and people and text disappear and I'm returned to flags. The work seems to revolve around inviting people to respond to the same questions, which is an excellent idea as it helps produce a structure that can be used for keywords, but with the thumbnails only being people there is no way to find out what this structure is. This is a work that becomes just a collection of bits and pieces, it has material that could make it much more, but needs commentary on the silent videos to help contextualise why or what they are, why or how they matter, and also stronger ideas about how to use and experience the work from the point of view of others. It looks like something that makes inherent good sense to those that made it, but if others were invited to view it and to get a sense of what it is about, they might struggle.