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P2P: Power to the People
CAFKA'02: P2P    Exhibition Catalogue

By Andrew Wright, artistic director

[...] Conversely, it was a work by Kitchener artists Rob Gorbet, Susan Gorbet, and Matt Gorbet that generated an incredible response from both participants and authorities. Adopting a title that was a further updating of the theme, 'P2P' consisted of two components. The first was a large marquee sign made up of 125 light bulbs suspended beneath the canopy over the main entrance to Kitchener City Hall. The second was a panel of 125 household light switches located in front of the reflecting pool on Civic Square. Each switch controlled a single bulb that could be turned on or off at will.

The work was reminiscent of a celebratory marquee that spanned King Street in 1910 in which the words "Hydro" and "for the People" were spelled out in light bulbs. The difference here was that the message was not fixed. Available 24 hours a day for the duration of the Forum, anyone could arrange the lit bulbs to spell out personal messages. Suddenly, the tools of corporate communication and advertising were made available and free, democratic expression began, bolstered by partial anonymity. The work literally and figuratively brought 'power to the people.'

And, as with all forums where there is potential for differences in opinion, the debate around what were 'appropriate' messages for the citizenry became particularly intense. The dais where the switch panel was located became the site of heated arguments between people of all descriptions (including police), all eager to voice their thoughts, kudos, or objections to the messages displayed, which were often only single words. Others devised and played games with the work, while others still turned the marquee into a decorative pattern.

The work endured, and remained operable for the full duration of the Forum. Early one morning I drove by Civic Square, which was still dark and deserted. The marquee simply read 'SERBIA'. It seemed an important reminder that outside our petty debates about what constitutes appropriate democratic expression, there are still places in the world where democracy itself is a tenuous as the flicker of a light bulb.

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