Famous Canadian visual artist, Douglas Coupland, created the latest installment of 10 seconds, the year-long video project currently playing on Canada Line video screens.

Coupland’s clip, entitled Vancouver Codes, flashes 20 colourful QR codes (Quick Response codes) on screen in—you guessed it—10 seconds. Hold a QR reader (there are a number of free QR reading apps available for download) up to the video, snap a photo and you’ll be taken to one of 20 separate links to YouTube videos, photographs of various sites like Grouse Mountain and the Olympic Cauldren, public artworks including Coupland's own Digital Orca, and even written messages like “Everything beautiful is true”!

The images move fast so it’s no easy task scanning the screen while the video is playing. It’s best if you're watching the clip on YouTube and have the ability to pause it before snapping your photo.

In any event, it’s safe to say this is the most intriguing and interactive installment of the10 seconds project thus far. 

The 10 Seconds project was curated by Paul Wong and is presented by On Main in partnership with inTransitBC and was commissioned by the City of Vancouver. For more information on Coupland’s piece and to view previous installments, click here.

And if a QR code as a work of art is something that intrigues you, check out this blog post explaining how one of the digital barcodes was used to restore the integrity of an East Vancouver mural.