'NOT' official 'Firstsite' marketing material but my satirical take on community engagement. I was planning to tap into Colchester's Roman connection and the fact that the race track was built around and through the galleries auditorium. This was going to be one of many miniature advertising hoardings all the way round the track to hopefully be picked up by the 'Caravan Cam' and projected bigger on the screen.

(4 mins. 8 secs.) Commentators comedian 'James Serak' and  artist 'Tom Armstrong'. The final race of the day at Firstsite gallery in the auditorium. The track went in one door and out the other going all the way round the outside.  The feed from the  'Caravan Cams' was projected onto the big screen in the audatorium- Although 'Caravan Cam 3' didn't work due to an undiagnosed electrical interference problem.

​It was interesting to do 'Selfie Slot Car Racing' in another context other than a library. The original concept came from making some kind of marketing parody and I wanted that to be at the core of the project for Firstsite. My aims at the gallery were interesting but slightly over ambitious given the resources available to me. At the time (2016) Firstsite still had an image issue. The gallery was a multi million pound new build project that had a lot of unforeseen problems and bad luck since it opened a few years earlier. Consequently it had had to deal with a lot of criticism and bad press. Public image was a thorny issue and I wasn't actually allowed to mention my marketing strategy- which made it feel even more clandestine.

The model press hut from my old Scalexrix set.

(18 secs.) Trying out the new starting system

One story I heard was that taxi drivers were perpetuating a negative image of the gallery by giving spontaneous damming reviews of the place to their passengers. I don't know how true this was but I thought it was an interesting idea. In other 'Selfie Slot car' races I had tried to make at least one 'taxi slot car' so that we had an anonymous car to offer people who didn't drive. In Colchester I took this a lot further by making as many as possible with a view to getting them involved in the project- A sort of labour intensive 'targeted marketing' campaign. It was never actaully going to work but I thought it was an interesting concept.  

There were a whole raft of technical issues at the gallery including electrical interference that stopped one of the 'caravan cams' working altogether. Consequently a lot of the interesting additions to the project were never developed far enough but I did get one taxi driver to turn up on race day to race a model of his own taxi. 

A local family run business lent their classic van to be turned into a slot car.

The track exiting the auditorium (right) and making its way around the outside along the corridor. The Firstsite gallery track was the largest one I built and took at least a minute and half to get all the way round. Photo: Eddie Bacon

The track entering through the door in the distance and making its way across the front of the auditorium. The building is famously 'curved' and I discovered that by follwing the walls with the track it didn't join up square at the end. You can see in the image that luckliy it was so long I was able to put a curve in it so that the two ends of the track met. Photo: Eddie Bacon

The track coming down the other corridor on the opposite side of the audatorium and entering the space via the door on the left in the photograph. Photo: Eddie Bacon

The four projected views from the 'caravan cams' made it a bit more interesting for spectators. Photo: Eddie Bacon

There was a steady stream of spectators that came in and out over the course of the day. The comperes were highly entertaining. Photo: Eddie Bacon

Negotiating one of the 'S' bends. Photo: Eddie Bacon

Photo: Eddie Bacon

Two wheelchair friendly bridges had to be built as the track crossed a busy thoroughfare in the gallery. Photo: Eddie Bacon

Changing the batteries in the 'caravan cams' before the start of the next race. Photo: Eddie Bacon

Car and 'caravan cam' passing under one of the bridges. Photo: Eddie Bacon

James Serak and Tom Armstrong in mid race commentary. Photo: Eddie Bacon

As well as 'cut out' track marshals warning of an upcoming corner; the 'Firstsite gallery championship' also offered the opportunity to run people over. The figure at the back left wearing the black roll neck sweater is actually the Firstsite buildings architect, 'Rafael Vinoly'- A contraversatial figure in Colchester.