traumatising wearable projects

we started talking about mouths and wearables at some point today. and it brought to mind: SWAMP – aka. studies of work atmospheres and mass production – www.swamp.nu

these guys (doug easterly and matt kenyon) whom i met recently when we presented our work at ISEA in the same session work with a range of traumatising performative art experiences.

i have recollections of asking about traumatising art experiences today at some point. i think that there can be a focus on rewarding art experiences – although, reflecting on the works in the mirror states exhibition now, i realise that many of these works aren’t exactly “fun” and “inviting”. david rokeby’s VNS growls and hisses as you move into the active space – and one woman who walked there got a fright the minute this occurred. mari velonaki’s bird fish is a heart-wrenching story of unrequited love between two wheelchairs that litter handwritten notes across the floor. and alex davies’ dislocation had a teenage girl let out a scream this afternoon in the space when one of the virtual bodies came a bit too close to her. none of these works are warm and fuzzy and make me want to curl up next to them.

but i do want to spend time with them (the more distressing and challenging works), much more so than sickly sweet cute japanese animated girls.

i think i’m really interested in developing challenging art pieces that push people into zones of discomfort and risk bringing about a potentially negative experience and response. but that doesn’t have to be the case. of course just because the content/concept of the work is hard to cope with doesn’t mean that the response is negative. here i’m thinking about my own response to the gusen sound walk (audiowalk.gusen.org) i undertook at ars electronica last year. the sonic material was heartwrenching – but it did change my world. i still think about this work every few weeks.

so getting back to my point – we were talking about interactive works using the mouth today, and it reminded me of the SWAMP guys who have developed a work – called the Consumer Index – with a barcode scanner placed in their mouth and wires that run through a hole pierced in matt’s cheek (thats dedication to your art…). then he wanders through wallmart scanning barcodes with an open mouth.