"The observation of the communal witness" is an installation which explores the reading of an event through the facial expressions of the viewer. The response of the viewer formulates its own narrative, which we as observers attempt to decode. It questions the role of documentation as representation and in its place suggests a process of translation. The event is still recorded but not necessarily emulated. In its place there exists a silent interpretation of the work.
The work used infra red video equipment to scan and record audiences (in darkness) viewing a film in a cinema. The video signal was relayed in real time to the front of the venue and displayed outside in the street, allowing the pedestrian traffic to observe the audience. The audience is electronically transported outside the theatre and symbolically adopt the role of guardian. All who pass the theatre at the time of performance will encounter a real time displaced electronic audience symbolically observing the pedestrian and transient traffic and reacting to an unseen narrative. At the end of each screening the footage is replayed, thereby allowing the recorded members to stumble acros their image.
"The Observation of the Communal Witness" explores the concept of the unwilling performer, where the role of performer is not self imposed, instead it is bestowed upon the viewer /audience member. The awareness of their position as performer is irrelevant, so to is their willingness to undertake this role. The work was created at Lichtwerk cinema in Bielefeld as part of a residency undertaken at ARTISTS UNLIMITED in Bielefeld, Germany.