the world of co-
2019
This series of short films explores a world where people perform acts in pairs and triplets. Focusing on activities that take place in the domestic sphere, this project erupts the boundaries of
the private and the public,
the individual and the collective,
the selfish and the social.
Compromise is a prerequisite for co-existence and since humans are social beings, it’s unavoidable. Our power lies on collective knowledge and collaboration. We live together, yet in a highly individualised world; much of the world around us is designed for a single user -one who is granted full access or given the full control.
By turning individually established acts into synergetic ones through collaboration, a new balance dynamic is established between humans - and non-humans - exploring unfamiliar roles.
Sitting down at the dinner table and really eating together. An experience where the body and its movements are compromised and coordinated with others.
When I was younger I remember being fascinated seeing my mom brushing her teeth, noticing her incredible speed and skillful movements. Since we are not born with an innate knowledge for teeth-brushing, we can learn to perform it differently, building our own ways and habits along the way.
Giving up control and tending to an other can create a bond. When acts like this are performed together, you take care of each others' needs.
Project Participants:
Caitlin Mcconnell, Celeste Williams, Eva Jane Gates, Raya Mohan, Rachel Rice & myself
Humans might be social beings, but we are also selfish by nature.
As with any system in history, there is a discrepancy between theory and practice.
The world of CO- does not not exist in perfect harmony, rather, there is disagreement and conflict present.
There are stages in a project where being playful with materials, techniques, concepts, allows for the uncovering of hidden narratives and questions viewpoints altogether.
In this project, my group and I focused on processes we perform on the daily and we found ourselves circling back to the idea of mindfullness and rituals around eating.
A state where you allow yourself and your actions to derive from an unfiltered space of genuine curiosity and wonder.
It is often unclear where you are going to be led.
There was one evening during this project I distinctly remember - and to which I often return. We stayed late one night in the design studios and we just started playing; we put no bounds to our experiments. Nothing was too anything. We were making with our hands, crafting, mantling, attaching, filming, testing out object functions and subverting their uses - it felt like a pivotal moment not only for that particular project, but my overall practice.
As adults, and especially in a professional envrionment, play is not something we usually engage in - but being silly, or rather, not being afraid of seeming silly, opens up so many possibilities.
That week, during the Digital Fabrication workshop, I was given a task to produce a ‘life-hack’ device. In rethinking what a life-hack is -and can be- I came up with: 'something that makes life better'. This does not have to just mean faster, cheaper, or easier. 'Better' could then mean to maximise the experience through ‘effort’ and ‘reward’, or by increasing awareness.