Belief by Thomson and Craighead is a documentary artwork exploring the notion of belief through information sourced online. Inspiration for the artwork stemmed from a piece of found-footage discussing the ‘faerie flag’ – an artifact steeped in mystery and myth, held at Dunvegan Castle in Skye.
Presented as a two-screen installation in the castle, the artwork depicts fragmented broadcasts about belief, all sourced from the video sharing community YouTube. These short snippets denoting all sorts of ideologies are linked to a compass floor projection, which interacts with the montage showing where each clip originated in relation to the geographical location of the artwork. With a little help from Google Earth viewers are placed at the center-point of this cinematic data visualisation.
Commissioned in part by ATLAS, alongside Creative Scotland, New Media Scotland (Alt‑w fund) and Animate Projects – Belief is the final work in the Flat Earth Trilogy by the artists.
Software development for Belief by Matthew Jarvis, sound design by John Cobban and script development by Alison Craighead, Jon Thomson and Steve Rushton.
