CHANGE DIRECTION

James Cotton — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:22:20 +0000

A single command is presented before an audience situated in darkness. Pure uppercase text fixed in a strict rectangle of projected light. After a short yet sterile moment the command is replaced with by another in the same fashion. The content of these statements, suggest more than surveyance as the narrative emerges before the spectators. The texts evoke dual options of response; external or internal actions performed by request, whilst either of these routes disappear at points, as some commands offer no alternatives. Parallel to this immersive sequence, a video cameraâ€™s subtle red LED indicates the documentation of those occupying the space. Nothing is required, nothing is enforced, whilst an audience evaluate their reaction to this nothingness. After a period of remaining in the space spectators end their experience and exit receiving a small card from the artist stating:

Through a sequence of directions the artist proposes and provokes an interactive situation before a potential audience of participants, which would naturally remain external to the material resulting in the arrival of ‘the work’.

The performance of this interactivity is consistently inconsistent, depending upon the subjects in the space; their trust, their response, their influence, their duration. This audience render synchronized sculpture within the space and alter their experience of the artwork through their level of activity or inactivity.

The work proposes, beyond the command, the question: Is the desired experience realised outside of the artist’s intention?

More significantly this form of consideration could then be applied further to our existence: Is the desired experience realised outside of The Artist’s intention?

DOCUMENTATION FROM THE EXHIBITION

FILM CONTENT FROM THE EXHIBITION

NEW CREATION » Performance

CHANGE DIRECTION