interbenchion.

Up Late Again

2012-02-05T23:19:00.000-08:00

Hello, it's been awhile.

Well... the bench is gone, fun over? Nope! We are excited to let loose with this next idea. We are temporarily installing framed art in various public spaces.

Have you ever looked through the art at thrift stores? It is an odd assortment that in large part consists of amateur landscapes, flowers, twenty year old photos of places you've never been, someone's favourite animal, tacky souvenirs from resorts in Mexico, more flowers, and a creepy child or two. All of it, good or bad, is awesome, and we decided that maybe some of it deserves a second chance at being seen. The best part is, there is so much of this amazing cultural flotsam and jetsam.

Yes, this isn't exactly bench related. We are aware that the name Interbenchion kind of ties us to only working with benches, but then realized, heck, who exactly is making the rules here?

Same rules apply as to the bench, we won't damage anything, and it is temporary. We will be back in a couple of days to take it down. Unless it falls down, which may happen.

So anyways, here is the first attempt/tape-test.

Camera phones ain't great at night.

Small art, big wall.

Anyhoo, keep your eyes out as you walk around. We will post the best ones here.

BCIT Interbenchion Video

2011-11-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

BCIT Magazine came out to the bench painting event and did a short piece about the project! Check it out here.

The Bench as a Group Effort

2011-10-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

Wow, what an amazing afternoon! Huge success. Thanks to everyone who came out and added something to the bench. Seriously, thank you, we had no idea if people were actually going to take part. We hope you had as much fun as we did.

Started just with a few people.

Then more came.

And more came!

Someone taking a photo.

There was a constant stream of people for three and a half hours! Here are some shots of all the different things people added to the bench. This was seriously the best Interbenchion that has happened.

That handsome fella is Arthur Whalley, namesake of the neighbourhood.

"Geocaching Cared"
A local geocacher made a geocache based on the fenced bench: #GC1B45F. It is inactive now, but she says she is going to make a new one!

"Without adversity there wouldn't be victory"

I <3 Surrey.

Someone chronicled all the Interbenchions on the back of a bench.

Putting down roots.

Good advice!

That is is for now, bench is looking amazing and we will keep everyone updated for the big move. And to answer the question that keeps coming up, no, we are not done, and contact us if you have any ideas.

Big thanks to the City for the equipment, and all the people/media who have helped spread the word about our silly project, it is really appreciated!

The Bench as a Blank Slate

2011-10-15T11:56:00.000-07:00

We've sanded and painted the bench to get it all ready for Monday. We have a facebook invite here, help spread the word!

Note: Scraping gum off the bottom of a bench thats been neglected for years is quite possibly the grossest thing i've ever done on a Saturday morning.

facebench

2011-10-12T19:42:00.000-07:00

Created a facebook page & event www.facebook.com/interbenchion

Paint the Bench!

2011-10-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

We haven't been very busy lately because the weather has been so terrible, BUT we just found out that the Imprisoned Bench will soon be imprisoned no more! Translink and the City are setting it free! We helped set up this send-off for the bench the City is hosting, so come on down Monday the 17th and help turn the bench into a permanent piece of community art!

What does it mean for Interbenchion now that our favourite piece of street furniture will be no more? We will think of something I am sure. I've been noticing a surprising amount of grass and trees behind fences...

Actually, we are interested in talking to people interested in this sort of stuff to keep the ideas and public space/public art creativity flowing -so if you've got any ideas or want to get involved in future activities, drop us a line at interbenchion@gmail.com. As we've said before, this has been way too much fun to quit doing.

See you Monday! (But you won't see me)

-Interbenchionist

The Bench, Alone in a Crowd

2011-09-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel that even though you're surrounded by many others, you're all alone? Bench feels that way. Bench feels that way much of the time.

The Bench is facing some existential angst.

Someday, Bench, someday you will not be alone.

Yeah, this is probably asking for trouble...

The Bench as a Park Bench

2011-08-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

Keep off the grass!

Huge thanks to the anonymous benefactors (bench-efactors?) who supplied the materials to make this Interbenchion possible!

It is kind of like a window into an alternate reality.

This birdhouse was borrowed from a 4 year old,
and we promised we would return it.

Naptime?

Hope you're having a good summer!

Natural Interbenchion.

*Note: we killed no trees. All the branches were from trees that were professionally pruned, in case you were worried.

The Bench as Civil Diso-bench-ience

2011-08-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

I was walking by and noticed some nice people sitting on the bench. Civil Diso-bench-ience!

Made us wonder just how often people manage to sit on the bench despite the fence.

The Bench as a ...Bench

2011-08-06T00:45:00.000-07:00

The Bench as a bench, why not right? And what would a bench be without some friendly people sitting on it.

A couple of oldtimers playing some chess...

Waiting for the bus with stylish sunglasses on...

Bringing along the local newspaper for some light bench reading...

I'm no Bobby Fischer but that looks like an intense chess game...

The Bench as a bench, whoda thunk it.

Stay tuned, daytime photos to come.

The Bench as a Dinosaur

2011-07-27T06:55:00.000-07:00

The elusive Benchasaurus has been captured! Please keep your children away from the bars, and do not feed the Benchasaurus.

The first Benchasaurus captured since, well, ever.

Tail for balance.

These spikes were evolved as a defence mechanism to
stop people from sitting on the Benchasaurus.

From this angle, almost looks fearsome. Almost.

Benchasaurus needs a name, help us out people!

Christmas In July Daytime Photos

2011-07-22T16:25:00.000-07:00

We visited the bench incognito today, and were really happy about the reaction it was getting from people walking past it. Lighting was bad last night so quickly took a few snaps.

The Bench as Christmas in July

2011-07-22T01:27:00.000-07:00

Ho ho ho, Merry Benchmas! This was partly inspired by the unseasonably cold weather we've had, but mostly by having an over-abundance of old xmas decorations.

I wonder what it could be?

Season's greetings!

The Bench as an Aviary

2011-07-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

A collection of colourful peace cranes. This took longer to set up than anticipated! The Interbenchion team made all the paper cranes in advance but had to go a little crazy with the duct tape to keep everything in place. Here is hoping for a warm, sunny -and not too windy Canada Day.

Also, fitting in with the bird theme, we have a twitter feed now at www.twitter.com/interbenchion where we will update the masses, or the few, when hi-jinx happen.

I wonder if people will be flocking from all over to see this? Errr, it's hard to be clever at 4:30 in the morning, so lets just get to the pics.

Pretty.

Someone didn't get the memo.

After you've made 60+ in one sitting, they get really easy.

Well, that is it for this time. See you again soon.

Interbenchion Update

2011-06-23T11:20:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Tom at the Surrey Now and Sheila at the Surrey Leader for helping to spread the word about Interbenchion with their great articles. Also thanks to people who have sent supportive emails and ideas for future interbenchions.

The interbenchion crew is working night and day preparing for the next installation. Here is a hint:

Okay, this is admittedly a pretty terrible hint. But we don't want to ruin the surprise.

The Bench as Leftovers

2011-06-17T09:45:00.000-07:00

But don't put this in the microwave. We went with a less "furniture-intensive" idea this time round, maybe even lower profile? Well, sort of. Interested to see if this lasts a bit longer than last time, or if our efforts will be foiled.

Antenna were added to the lamp, this was actually part of different idea we didn't end up doing, ah well.

Interbenchioning is not an exact science.

It's like a beacon in the cold night.

That's it! See you later.

The Bench as a Living Room

2011-06-13T04:35:00.001-07:00

The first interbenchion went off without a hitch -now this is what we call a welcoming public space!

We started with this:

...and ended with this.

Cozy! Until next time.

*Note, this will all disappear as mysteriously as it arrived!

2011-04-30T16:35:00.000-07:00

Interbenchion coming.