Eija-Liisa Ahtila

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Eija-Liisa Ahtila

Ilppo Pohjola

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ground control

2006 | Single channel video @ Billboard Vision Project, Tokyo, Japan

THE PRESENT / GROUND CONTROL was shown on four billboard screens in Tokyo: Shibuya, Yurakucho, Harajuku and Ikebukuro. The size of the screens was atypical for a work of art, and they reached an audience of up to 385.000 people per day. The public space normally reserved for advertisements, and the sheer magnitude of the screens and the audience reached, make this project special.

As a part of an associative series of events, the work was screened alongside seminars about natural science and mental healing in Japan and Finland. The seminars focused on themes similar to those addressed in the work: mental illness, psychosis, human relationships, protection and forgiveness of self. The project resulted in bridging a gap between culture and society, dealing with mental breakdowns through contemporary art and using art to help remedy these situations.