Ralph C. Lumbres

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It’s Always Dawn Somewhere is a project about how we put arbitrary lines, borders, time zones, constructs in a lineless planet.

This gathering is a 24-hour participatory art project where people from all over the world live stream the sunrise as it happens in their location. This will happen in Zoom and will start from the artist's location on 8 August 2021, 04:51 (+9 GMT/Japan Standard Time). It will end on the next day, 9 August at 04:50 (+9 GMT).

 

This project will be part of Koganecho Bazaar 2021. The gathering on Zoom will be recorded and will be exhibited as a video work for this exhibition on 1-31 October 2021. I wrote a description of how I plan to exhibit the piece below. More information about the upcoming exhibition will be also posted on August 1 on Koganecho Area Management Center’s website: https://koganecho.net/

 

This is a project by Ralph Lumbres with Ness Roque as dramaturg.

If you want to join this gathering please register through this form: https://forms.gle/r4PBcQBdK8DioAZ38

 

What will happen in 24 hours?

• Aside from streaming and watching the sunrise, it’s also just an opportunity to be still and watch the sunrises quietly.

• On some moments, maybe some of us can read poems, perform, or we can listen to music. If you have any suggestions, you can write in the registration form above.

• Of course, we can also just chat, talk about life in general, or anything under the sun (pun intended).

What will you do as a participant?

• Plan and prepare how you will live stream the sunrise

• Join the Zoom meeting

• Show us the sunrise as it is happening live in your location

• You don’t have to stay long but you can come in and out anytime to watch the live surises all over the world!

 

How long do I need to stream the sunrise

• I think 10-15 minutes will do.

Who are the other participants?

• Mostly friends from all over the world. Confirmed participants are mainly from Southeast and South Asia, Australia, Japan, Israel, UK, USA, South America, and Canada. I'm also inviting more friends and acquaintances from Kenya, Hawaii and New Zealand.

Am I allowed to invite other participants?

• Yes, especially from regions/countries not mentioned above. It would be good to connect us so that I can introduce the project to him/her as well.

 

How will this be exhibited?

• My first idea is to record the whole 24-hour Zoom meeting and create two videos that will be exhibited side-by-side. The first one is a real time playback of the recording, the other is a sped up version into a 24-minute video. I do not plan to put an audio on the 24-hour real time version, while I think that the sped up one will be interesting since it will be heavily distorted and inaudible.

• The recorded video will focus on the sunrises (will be on Speaker view on Zoom), but there might also be some faces seen on top of the sunrises as seen on the Speaker view.

• I will not exhibit anything without the consent of the participants. Before I will exhibit the work, I will send the video file/s to participants and provide release/consent forms. I will also censor anything upon request of any participant.

• My priority is for eveyone to be comfortable during the gathering. If there are any privacy, and security concerns, I would love to discuss it with you. In the end, I might even omit the 24-hour playback version if it will not be favorable to the group.

• With you permission, I would like to credit everyone who participated as collaborators of this project. I will include this in the release/consent form. Then it will be included in the information of the artwork in the exhibition.

Why August 8?

• At first, there was no significance as to why I chose this date. It was practical for my schedule, but if you come, I can tell you about an interesting coincidence regarding this. :)

[OPTIONAL] It would be a plus if you can:

• Find a poem and/or music from your country/in your language about sunrise, the earth’s movement, interconnection, the ephemerality of borders, etc. — something that will fit the theme of this project. I plan to have us read poems or listen to music during this time to fill idle moments/or also do the reading while the sunrises are happening.

• Use a good camera to show us the sunrise as it is happening in your place. You can use the main camera at the back of your phone or an external camera (webcam, DSLR/mirrorless) connected to your PC.