We Complete, 2024
3 wood benches, paint, aluminum ,hardware, horn speakers, floor graphics, 3 posters-each 60 x 90 inches, custom electronics, original 3 channel soundtrack 21.10 minutes.
Commissioned by Bozar Arts Center, Brussels, BE with assistance from the the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, NY, NY
When two or more people use the benches and then touch one another, the electrical charges of their bodies complete a circuit and broadcast a soundtrack. If no one touches, the benches are quiet. Visitors can touch one another to activate the three tracks independently and concurrently, cooperatively composing and layering sound to fill the room.
The sound is young voices speaking 88 quotations from a wide range of poetic, literary, psychological, political and spiritual sources ranging from approx 500 BC to 2024. The text moves through themes of Interdependence, Care, Compassion, Loving Community, Justice, Healing, the Heart, and the Future. 90 children and teens, aged 6-17, read quotes for the soundtrack, speaking in Flemish, French, and English. The quotations and sources are formatted into three giant posters, one in each language.
An earlier version of this work was installed outdoors using an existing park bench in Cambridge Commons, Cambridge, MA in 2017 (more info here). The project is ongoing with a continually developing collection of quotations to use in future iterations.
click to enlarge ^^^
Press