Spat+Loogie. Rauma's Dark Side, 2008

Landed in Rauma with seemingly endless sunlight, Australian collaborative duo spat+loogie (alias Kat Barron and Lara Thoms) searched for darkness during their residence 6^th June – 31^st August. They hoped to find the parts of Rauma not advertised in the community magazines or tourist guidebooks. Their recent projects in Australia have subverted the tourism industry by taking audiences on strange virtual holidays by using video goggles and live performance.

spat+loogie invited residents of Rauma to take them to the dark side. They hoped to find video games in dark rooms, heavy metal, gothics, graffiti, ugly and sad places. spat+loogie seached for tour guides who took them on a small tour to the places, and cultures hidden in the shadows. They found heavy metal band’s workout digs; Kortela ABC-petrol station, where youths are gathering; an attic of a old unoccupied house and a cat headed manga-figure at the music & game store Pop-peli. People had an opportunity to see virtual videos taken at these spots during a Black Lace Night market. Artists also used sense of touch and an olfaction, which were connected to the videos.

spat+loogie were members of a Baltic Herring Short Film Competition jury and they shot a three minutes short film POOL with a “pattern recitation choir” Häplänperän valittajat, Euforia-band and Arttu Lähteenmäki. The Pool was shown at the Blue Sea Film Festival.

For an exhibition 888 that coincided with the Beijing Olympics in Sydney at the China Heights Gallery, spat+loogie made during their Raumars residence a video titled Four Pests (Not When We Have Quests), a high energy video battle based on the Chinese Government's newly identified social pests - spitting, swearing, queue jumping and smoking.

spat+loogie experiment with fusing interactive new media, performance, video and installation. Their work has culturally critical focus and a playful, identifiable hybrid aesthetic. They are interested in creating work that is interactive, interventionist and functions within nontraditional spaces.