Throughout October 2024, Kay Slater will occupy the FLEET mobile studio at Granville Island to explore creative access and wayfinding using a combination of AR (augmented reality) and low-fi techniques, such as sketching and mapping.

In the first week, Slater focused on acclimating to the space, moving around the island, and gathering measurements and notes. They were in the space daily and updated their instagram with a daily journal. Their blog was also updated throughout the week and ongoing, albeit more slowly, as they cannot access wifi within the trailer. They completed a large-scale work within their The Unseen art series, which they write about on their blog. They also added Calyptros (a hanging ivy plant visible through the window) and a few baby spider plant clippings from the grunt gallery parent plant Comos.

In the second week, Slater will work on expanding a shadow puppet script to perform at a (date yet unconfirmed) open house event happening later in October, building miniature models to brainstorm accessible additions, creating a draft of an island-wide text-game, and map the island for wayfinding using Transit, Bikes, Cars, Mobility Devices, and unassisted on Foot.

This month, Slater also engages in their ongoing voice-off project, promoting non-verbal communication in public spaces. This project encourages communities to recognize and validate non-verbal, gestural, and signing interactions as meaningful and complete forms of communication. Practicing radical silence involves choosing to be non-verbal in a society that often equates speaking with intelligence or efficiency, thereby challenging the societal norms and frustrations that arise when communication does not align with verbal expectations. Kay will not be speaking throughout October, and they welcome you to engage non-verbally if you want to learn more about what they are up to! You are also welcome to observe and peek in!

For daily updates and progress, follow along on their blog or instagram.

Kay's bio, artist statement, and visual description are at kdot.ca.

Technology note: The audio file uses voice-cloning or speech synthesis generated through speech-to-text.