“Joe Hedges brings to light the often fractured, individualized perception of place with his puzzle-like presentation of the Roswell Museum” – Currents New Media

I relied on Google street view technology and photographs from the internet to create an Internet-based interactive installation for the Roswell Museum and Art Center in Roswell, NM, that was also about the Roswell Museum and Art Center, despite not having been there in person. This work is about the physical vs. digital experience of place, with a nod to popular myths about Roswell as a center of supernatural or extra-terrestrial activity.

Displayed on a wall-mounted screen is an image of a nondescript stretch of road in New Mexico. Above the road exploded pieces of the Roswell Museum & Art Center hover supernaturally in as an unsolvable 3D puzzle. The individual components can be moved by clicking and dragging with a mouse. Additional pages play with pieces from the museum’s permanent collection, and the whole piece is framed by corrugated metal wallpaper.

nmnmnmnmnm.com - New Media New Mexico piece

nmnmnmnmnm.com – New Media New Mexico piece

This piece was included as part of a group new media exhibition curated by Sara Woodbury. The exhibition in Roswell is also part of a larger event, New Media New Mexico Trail, that includes work from artists around the world in a variety of institutions in the state of New Mexico. The event is organized by Currents New Media, an international festival of new media art that takes place in Santa Fe.

Roswell Museum and Art Center, new media exhibition as part of New Media New Mexico. Photo from Sara Woodbury

Roswell Museum and Art Center, new media exhibition as part of New Media New Mexico. Photo from Sara Woodbury

computer in a gallery