The Game of Immunity

Description

A multi-facetted interactive art installation by Frances Usher is being presented on the weekend of February 4th and 5th, 2023. Based on The Game of Immunity, she created during the past couple of years and debuted more recently during Gabriola Island's Studio Tour, Fran will briefly discuss the concepts behind the work. The public is welcome to walk through the installation, listen to the sounds of discourse and even watch or play the game at two different sittings each day. Fran states, "The Covid journey has changed us all. The interactive art installation is an attempt to encapsulate, in one space, the polarized emotions of this journey for me. On reflecting on its concept, one colleague she said she it was point on. "It is eerie to think of those who have been on the outside looking in. It's discrimination in its purest form. And the darkness felt by those excluded is real". Fran adds, "Not only is the inclusion of a themed board game a metaphor for the various social behaviours we have all witnessed by those around us through this journey, but the game also offers cooperative solutions. The game simply mirrors the human condition; the ugly and the sublime. Realization is half the battle to recovery. Progressive cooperation, realizing the stresses of conditions beyond one's control, inevitable conflict amongst people with different ideas, their setbacks and advances, and the need to play the long game...these are all complex concepts and emotions to process and while doing so, we need a framework to help us cope. Perhaps those famous words be kind, be calm, be safe, are a good starting point." Frances Usher

 Game Sittings 10:30 am and 1:30 pm