The tap-tapping machine, built for an installation in Providence, RI
The tap-tapping machine, built for an installation in Providence, RI
This semester I took an interest in social issues. Based on the weak signals of
increasing
attention to empathy, I interrogated the theme of Empathy.
​Early mapping and interrogation revealed a few dichotomies, between Empathy and Self-Interest, and Domestic
and
Emotional Labor.
"Choose Grace" is a speculative futures video intended to draw out an understanding of the tension between empathy and self-interest in our contemporary world. It deals with concepts of domestic labor, matriarchal roles in the home, and the demands of an equitable relationship. I know it is provocative, but please tear it to shreds in the comments, the goal is to start the conversation about these themes.
To bring this conversation into the present discourse, I created an installation on the same theme, illustrating tensions in self interest through the materiality and objects created, then demonstrating the role of empathy as a tool for navigating public spaces.
A materials exploration revealed a way to demonstrate this issue. The tap-tap-tapping of a student's pencil in class helps the tapper to focus, but distracts the rest of the class or office, prioritizing self interest over empathy. The artifacts are made out of a resin-cast impressions of pencil tapping display compromising roughly-fit solutions to these social issues.
The annoying drone of the tapping and the motor, echoed through the hall, drawing in curious viewers and ernest conversation, as attendees worked to unravel the twines of this tense connection.