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The British graphic designer George Snow has never made a secret of the fact that Italy is his second fatherland. At least for as long as the possibilities of commercial space travel remain limited and expensive. Because the only thing that Snow would rather do than move through the centuries old Roman culture, would be to move through the extra terrestrial. In his video work, Snow has been able to sublimate the frustration of having been born either twenty centuries too late or one century too early into a convincing universe in which he combines 'the best of both worlds'. In the Kijkhuis/Videoline-leader (1991) he showed an (antique) Japanese robot pacing through the Roman Forum and Pacman fish swirled through the Venetian canals in his version of Edgar Allen Poe's 'The assignation' (1988). A more advanced expression of this fascination within virtual reality is not yet possible, Snow says: ''I am frustrated by the slowness of our present generation in computers in displaying the visions of the strange new world that I am presently developing, in parallel to my studies of Roman architecture. However, it is possible to give people a 'peephole' into the new technology by cleverly using the science that is presently available.'' Despite the technical limitations of the present juncture, 'Motorway - Transport of delight' forms a hallucinating pinnacle in Snow's work. Snow hopes that its installation will become an amalgamation of art and circus. ''It will offer the participant in the environment the chance to cruise down the Bologna/Firenze Autostrada at speeds of over 600 kph in the company of low flying alien spacecraft and articulated lorries.'' Snow got the inspiration for this work in his free time in the car on his way to his Italian holiday destination. ''The journey is itself as therapeutic as any time spent on vacation.'' All the same, the artist is immune to banal things like queues and traffic jams. ''At times, when I am as far south as Italy and I've been on the road for 24 hours or more, the motorway takes on an entirely new complexion. Other drivers are really aliens in disguise and articulated lorries are loaded with sinister weapons that threaten my very existence.'' Things where no travel sickness pill can help. To convey these experiences, Snow has constructed a rectangular space defined by four metre high screens on which as many video beams project the landscape racing by. As well as Italy, Death Valley and the Brooklyn Bridge also flash past the viewer i.e the driver who, of course, experiences this artistic attraction sitting in a car. ''Seat belts should be worn at all times as the car will appear to be travelling at 600 kph.'' Who needs Eurodisney.
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André Nientied
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Music: The Art of Noise Remix: 8-to8 State, Prodigy, Carl Cox, Mark Gamble (FON), Executive producer: David Taylor (FON), With thanks to: China Records for the music
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