Abstract
Westermann, C., 'waiting' (site specific video installation), in: Thresholds, biannual critical journal of architecture, art and media culture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Architecture, No. 31, Ephemera, DVD supplement
I am waiting, I am my own sacrifice, designed to be sacred. Loneliness comes with the promise of efficiency. Holiness is a pleasureless escape. The work Waiting is a reflection upon the technologically enhanced, the mediated body and its relation to the world of matter. For decades medical devices have found their way into our bodies. This is not new. Yet, the capacities of these devices were relatively limited. Current research in neuroscience and in genetics, however, seems to herald the final post-human era of both a technological body and mind. Its limits are unknown. Part for part, the human will replace himself with "smart" devices. Part for part, the self will be assigned to the activities of specific neurons within our brain. Ageing belongs to nature only, age to matter that is irreplaceable. Waiting depicts a female performer almost standing still in an obvious loop of 30 seconds duration, projected on a wall that displays the traces of its age. The performer's small movements appear in relationship with the structure of the wall as if she wanted to synchronize herself with that world that knows the truly ephemeral — history— and with it, memory and dream. There is a place.
I am waiting, I am my own sacrifice, designed to be sacred. Loneliness comes with the promise of efficiency. Holiness is a pleasureless escape. The work Waiting is a reflection upon the technologically enhanced, the mediated body and its relation to the world of matter. For decades medical devices have found their way into our bodies. This is not new. Yet, the capacities of these devices were relatively limited. Current research in neuroscience and in genetics, however, seems to herald the final post-human era of both a technological body and mind. Its limits are unknown. Part for part, the human will replace himself with "smart" devices. Part for part, the self will be assigned to the activities of specific neurons within our brain. Ageing belongs to nature only, age to matter that is irreplaceable. Waiting depicts a female performer almost standing still in an obvious loop of 30 seconds duration, projected on a wall that displays the traces of its age. The performer's small movements appear in relationship with the structure of the wall as if she wanted to synchronize herself with that world that knows the truly ephemeral — history— and with it, memory and dream. There is a place.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Thresholds |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue number | Ephemera |
| Publication status | Published - 2006 |
| Externally published | Yes |