Entry #032

Object of meditation #003

This piece of work was created for an exhibition, which never happened as a consequence of the COVID lockdown.

Philosophically, my goal was to stimulate, challenge or alter people’s perceptions. Conceptually, my primary goal was to engage the viewer into observational mode preferably self-observation – and to specifically do so by breaking the dominance of how we are influenced through the visual intake and promoting the use of other senses too such as touch and sound. Technically, my goal was to experiment with how to connect different devices, frameworks, controllers and programs to work together as a whole system.

But the pandemic meant that I no longer had access or the ability to put this artwork in a public space and let people play with it. I could no longer work in the context I had intended. I was limited in two ways compared to my original goals: space and people. During my process of re-imagining what I could do, I remembered my inspirations during my research and critical studies. Within my artistic practice, I have specific curiosities and fears about performance.

The context for the artwork became my flat and within this, the bathroom. It was a challenging and weird choice but this was the best space for a reflective experience. The reality is that many people meditate, relax and contemplate in the bathroom. Since I was alone in my flat with my wife, she became my only audience and I was the sole artist. I decided to transform the work into a performance. Between the two of us, I was delivering the performance and she was experiencing the art, but also part of the performance. None of my goals changed only the form of execution.

I liked how this installation became an artless art, which acted as a vehicle and a space, rather than an object.

This audiovisual exploration in the form of an intimate live performance, helped me to gain insight into a various application of art that meets the space without overpowering or intruding.