90’s live RAVE VISUALs

16mm projector awaiting film loop, INTRACTION, Victoria, BC, 1995

1995/1996 - By projecting photos and film loops on the walls, ceilings, and backdrops for Raves and musical events I would design and create the visual atmospheres. At this time the projections were entirely analogue, using old slide projectors, 8mm and 16mm film projectors that I found in local thrift shops. Much of the imagery was garnered from old movie footage or rephotographed from books and magazines. Film loops are the original GIFs. They are hand-made by piecing together sections of celluloid film, looped into a circle and secured together with tape. They play a short vignette, spinning through a 16mm film projector, repeating roughly every 4 to 8 seconds, all depending of the length of the loop (usually around 1 to 2 metres in circumference).

At times I would project my own photos, or feature the artwork of friends. At this time in Vancouver and Victoria, Canada, the Rave scene was still small, and entirely non-corporate sponsored. The one-off warehouse parties were fluid with the local dance scene, with many of us having regular club nights. For me it was Thursdays for Jazzmin at the Red Lounge on Richards near Robson, and later Strictly Business at the Hungry Eye in Gastown.