When Adele Prince asks if she can take you for a walk around the city, you know she isn't going to be pointing at the buildings and talking about the latest theme-pub to have opened along the high street. What she will do instead, is open your eyes to the inhabitants of the city and their own individual ticks and habits. Like any good artist she draws your attention to the world around you and causes you to stop and take a second look. Asking you to see afresh what has become invisible to you as you go about your everyday life. Imperceptible, her most recent work, is currently on show at the mac (Midlands Arts Centre) An Internet-based piece that Prince has created in response to the question, "What Is Urban?" The question itself was posed by the partnership between Vivid and Punch, two Birmingham-based arts organisations who commissioned this project.
 | | Image from Imperceptible |
Adele Prince's response was to capture the landscape of the city in moving images and still photographs. She has taken these images and incorporated them into a landscape that the user navigates across. Those living in Birmingham will recognise roads and landmarks as they appear on the map. Imperceptible is an interactive experience that anyone can enjoy. The viewer uses the keyboard to navigate the small figure across a map of Birmingham city centre. By pausing over various obstacles, images of the city are revealed, as well as animated clips of people performing those activities that we all act out, but without even realising it. A man sits in Cathedral Square, taps impatiently with his foot, whilst seeming to talk to someone. All the while, moving his head back and forth. It's in this man's behaviour that we catch a glimpse of what city life is like. Sometimes a bit frustrating, but there's always something going on around you that you want to watch. This is a deceptively simple looking project. The fact that it has the appearance of a game and is easily ‘played' might make some people question how much can be got out of it. The secret to Imperceptible however, is in having the patience to let the small animations play themselves out, and to let the characters perform their own little habits. Once you've seen them, you'll realise how many little daily routines you have yourself, when you're out and about. The mac will be showing the animations from the project, in their inner courtyard, from Saturday 31 March until Sunday 31 May. Written by Mark Hancock, site user | 
