The Creators Project

Radical Friend Talk Digital Flesh

Radical Friend are Julia Grigorian and Kirby McClure, a pair of artists who are known for their unique work with film, video and moving image. For The Creators Project they have created a unique installation entitled The Digital Flesh. The piece will travel to all Creators Project events across the globe and evolve and change as different people from different continents interact and experience the work.

We caught up with Kirby and Julia this morning as they were putting the finishing touches to the piece before the great unwashed began to interact with it.

The Creators Project: What’s it been like to set up?
Kirby McClure: Well, we were using the same set up as New York, so we had done it once before, which made it a little easier. That said, you always worry that things are going to break in transit, as the piece is pretty fragile.
Julia Grigorian: Yeah, we should probably get insurance or something.

How have you found the space compared to where you exhibited the piece in New York?
Kirby McClure: Because it is completely site specific, the space has had a huge effect. We have a lot of room here and the ceilings are really high, which makes a big difference to the sound.
Julia Grigorian: The space in New York was more like a stage, so you couldn’t see all the way round the piece. Here, it is installed in the middle of the room, so you can see all 360 degrees of it, and seeing it from different angles is cool.
Kirby McClure: In New York, we also performed to initiate the piece, so it felt more like entertainment. The space feels more like an art space here; it’s here all day and people can walk around it and take their time experiencing it. That makes it feel really different.

What has changed with the project since it was shown in New York?
Julia Grigorian: Well, New York was the initiation and unveiling of the piece, and here we are now, moving forward and making our way towards the end point.

You guys are well known as video directors – has working with installations been a big change for you?
Julia Grigorian: Definitely. We are using totally different parts of our brains and it’s just a totally different way of working.
Kirby McClure: If you work on a video, so much of the work is done in post-production. This is all pre-production and then just letting it go.