Cardiff and Miller: The City of Forking Paths

Overview

How safe do these two activities sound to you? (a) Walking through a crowded urban centre with your phone screen five inches from your nose. (b) Walking alone through deserted areas of The Rocks at night. Well, surprise! You're about to do both, and you'll survive without a bruise on you.

This is The City of Forking Paths, the Biennale of Sydney's first 'legacy' work that the City of Sydney gets to keep. It's really something. By Canadians Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, it's a 'video walk' that leads you on an artist-hijacked journey through some familiar (and not so familiar) places.

This is an interesting use of the technology. Unlike what we typically think of as augmented reality, the app does not supplement the world you're walking through; it replaces it, with footage shot earlier by the artists. Some shots appear as ordinary, observational documentary; some are staged interventions into normality. Combined, they create a poetic in-between place that has you thinking about The Rocks' history, its present, your relationship with technology and your relationship with the world around you — despite, or because of, your removal from it.

By keeping step with Cardiff's breathy, introspective narration, you keep step with the visuals (more or less). Don't worry about bumping into people; it turns out, people will amiably duck out of the way of oblivious weirdos who can't lift their eyes from their phones.

Cardiff and Miller have been developing their sound walks for decades now, and it feels like they have been able to reach new levels of fullness in their practice with today's technologies. The rambling, exploratory, almost stream-of-consciousness nature of their work remains (although that's not to say anything's an accident; the sound and video production is immaculate and precise). By engaging the visual sense so totally, however, they've been able to create a truly exceptional feeling of immersion. Cardiff's monologue becomes your monologue. If you're lucky, it rattles you completely and allows you to step beyond yourself.

In order to get the full effect, you really must follow the instructions for intended use and keep the device held up vertically in your line of sight, aligning it with your peripheral vision as much as possible. You also need good-quality, noise-cancelling headphones, as the sound design is essential to the work, and your dinky earbuds won't cut it. As easy as it might be to download the app direct to your phone (it's Android and iPhone compatible), you're probably best off borrowing an iPod Touch set from Customs House, where headphones from sponsor Harman/Kardon are provided.

Live actively in your city and give this artwork a go. Don't let it fall to tourists alone. It's a remarkable piece with more stress-releasing power than after-work drinks. And with The Rocks destined to look quite different a few years from now, it's an artwork with a potent, evolving legacy.

The City of Forking Paths is GPS-activated and time-locked and will only function from Customs House after dusk.