[Scott Townsend Proposal and Archive]

[Borderline Stories] The interactive work Borderline Stories is about dispossession and immigration across geographical borders. It is a fluid and interactive work about the cultural context that it is placed within. As it is placed in different spaces, it becomes primarily about discussion and dialogue across various boundaries, economic, personal, and historical. Borderline Stories is shown simultaneously on the web and is digitally projected as part of an installation in the gallery.








The gallery-based installation includes a connection to the internet for online input of data. Visitors to the site and gallery are asked to submit the geographical region that they live in, and who best seems to represent the character(s) of the story. They also may submit a short text why they feel their character selection is justified. On a global map, 18 landmasses change size in relationship to the online data, getting larger or smaller depending on where visitors are from. The visitor may read and add to archived text responses. The answers evolve over time, revealing different cultural contexts through which the subject is understood. In the version of Borderline Stories shown in Prague, a bilingual text was created to allow the local Czech audience to participate fully.