General Strike Simulator

2024
Video Installation
Two-channel video, spatialized audio, rear projection screens, projectors, speakers, metal shelving, and hardware
8ft x 9ft x 17ft

Runtime
21 minutes

Simulation Designer
Berkley Staite

Host
artLAB Gallery, Western University, London ON

Support
Artist Material Fund

Documentation
Philip Gurrey

General Strike Simulator is an immersive installation built in Unity with the assistance of Halifax-based game designer Berkley Staite. The work imagines a journey through Toronto during a citywide general strike, following the route of the 510 Spadina streetcar through a digitally reconstructed city populated by crowds of demonstrators.

The built environment and protesters are rendered in low resolution, emphasizing the simulation’s artificial nature, while spatialized audio inside the streetcar cabin is collaged from recordings of actual Toronto protests. The project asks viewers to consider the distinction between participant and spectator, and which side they would fall into if a general strike were to unfold in Canada.

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