"National Heritage"
Mongrel
de Waag
Amsterdam

The Waag sits in the heart of Amsterdam, a beautiful castle with an
interesting past. There is a cafe that is nice, and computers that are
not so nice. A large square invites visitors from surrounding
neighborhoods including the red light district to the north and west.
The Society for Old and New Media inhabits the upper level, up a steep
spiral stairway and next to the Theatrum Anatomicum.

In former times, the Theatrum was used for dissection and exploration of
the human body. Anatomy was "discovered" through elaborate cutting,
probing and display. In a scene straight out of "Discipline and Punish,"
the Theatrum Anatomicum was a place where the human body was invented,
transformed from a mysterious mass into more meaningful flesh and blood.

No less today does the Theatrum remain a spot for looking at the human
body. In conjunction with the Next 5 Minutes 3 meeting, UK-based art
drop-outs Mongrel have installed "National Heritage," an immersive
environment dealing with race and representation.

For National Heritage, Mongrel placed a mouse in the center of the
theater, then projected computer images on three walls of the rotunda.
Using the mouse, the user moves through a series of facial images framed
in close-up. The faces represent different races and, in some frames,
are cross-breeds of two races through a type of superimposition of
different "skin masks." By clicking the mouse the user spits on the
faces, degrading both the images and identities behind them.

In addition to the visual images, a rich audio track plays continuously.
Mixing speech, interviews, hip-hop beats, ambient music and other sound
effects, the soundtrack itself is a type of cross-breed.

National Heritage is open at the Waag through Thursday the 18th.