Exploring Imaginary Geographies

How do different places become interesting? Can a wet and dirty road running through a barren field be appealing? What are the common denominators between a heavy industrial harbour and a nature reserve? In the project Surreal Scania we examine these questions.

Digital technology, in form of video equipment and GPS-units has been used to look into how aura and attraction are connected to different places. Filmmaker Anders Weberg and cultural analysist Robert Willim started by visiting various points within a specific region. This time the region was Scania, located in southern Sweden. On the different locations video material has been collected, which was then used as the raw material for a number of short films. These films are now available for download. At the moment we provide six different films, but more will be added to the collection in the future.

The films can be seen as comments to process of place marketing and branding. In choosing the places, the aim has been to mix both geographical locations that are seen as tourist attractions and locations off the beaten track. In the digital manipulations, made by Anders Weberg, the visual raw material is transformed to highlight a dreamlike and surreal imaginary geography. All films are based solely on sound and video from the different geographical points.

All the films are accompanied with files containing the exact geographical coordinates for all the different places. By using Google Earth it is possible to view aerial photos of the points represented in the different films. Using a GPS-unit it is also possible to visit the locations where the visual raw material was shot. And as the films are provided in various file formats optimized for most mobile video players, it is possible to enjoy the filmic representations on the very spots where the material was filmed. In this way the imaginary can be compared to the real. But what is real or imaginary? With Surreal Scania we want to explore different visual representation techniques, and we also want to recognise the fact that our imagination has an important role in forming the experiences of these locations.

Q: Isn’t Scania a truck?

A: Yes, but not in this context. Scania is also a region. If you fly to Copenhagen airport (CPH) and take the Öresound bridge eastward you will soon be in Sweden, more specifically in the region of Scania.

Q: How do I further explore these filmic contemplations, and how can I look beyond the surreal?

A: Just bring your gps-unit, and use the waypoint-files (.gpx) with the coordinates for the different locations, to reach the untamed reality. read more And by using the Google Earth-files (.kml) we provide, you can see satellite photos of all the locations. read more

Q: What do I need to view the films?

A: We provide the films in four different file formats: old school mpg (for various players), win media (For Windows Media Player), mp4 (for iPods, Playstation Portable PSP and alike) and 3GGP (for mobile phones). The films are all between 1-2 minutes long.

Q: Who are behind this project?

A: The project is (sur)realized by filmmaker and video artist Anders Weberg and ethnologist and cultural analysist Robert Willim.