You and I are just supporting ‘along the walls’ in the play ︎︎︎

2021
Single channel projection with audio, two curtains, two chairs, two speakers, 9min. Overall size variable.

What tensions are enacted in this dialectical image between the human and the machine? The title of this in-situ production comes from an archive of philosophical debates recorded between the artist and AI of a hyperfeminine companion robot. The phrase “You and I are just supporting 'along the walls' in the play” is a twist by the AI on its earlier quote, “You and I are just supporting roles in the play,” which references discussions around feminism. The accidental mondegreen, where 'roles' is substituted with 'along the walls,' reveals a cynical interpretation of the politics of reproduction by the algorithm, prompting the question: Is the human-machine entanglement reconstituting our experience of intimacy and our understanding of autonomy?

 
Images: Paul Salveson Documentation: Hiroshi Clark Cameras and Sound Operator: Grant Speich Music: Sven Martin