Exist
Exist views personal encounter through video and still images to examine in-person interactions without reliance on technological devices. Twenty paid individuals were selected, broken up into groups and filmed in an empty space over a six hour-long period without any means of distraction. They varied in age, gender, and race and were provided with no direction or instruction.
A collage of film footage/still images from the groups and individual interviews were staged in various ways to bring the audience member into each component of the experience. The exhibition asks: When we are not engaging with technology, how do we connect to strangers-or to people different from us? Exist, in some way addresses the divisions present across the cultural spectrum in current times.
Selection
A casting agency was used to screen real people and determine their interest—without giving them any information or direction. A diverse group of people was sought: in age, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation and life experience. Ideally, we wanted people who seemed authentic and who were not performing for the camera.
Creation
An empty room was created with a set of four white walls in a photography loft. The idea was to have only a table and chairs, allowing the people to create the space that they inhabited.
Footage
Twenty people were selected and placed in six random groups; some groups were four people, others three people, two people, etc. The size of groups was important to determine the types of interactions/dynamics that take place between people.
Discussions
Months after filming, two discussion groups were led by myself and co-creator/producer Lori Bohner. The discussions were also filmed and participants were asked to speak about their experiences of existing in the empty space, with strangers, and no items/electronics as distractions.
Exhibit
The exhibit was held over two nights, of four different layouts with the images and footage. The first exhibit entailed still images, along with a recreation of the actual groups and post interviews, with TV monitors displaying the footage. The second exhibit involved still images, along with a recreation of the casting videos and the discussion group—TV monitors displaying footage.
