video documentation

Tech: Audio edited in Digital
Performer. Programmed in Director.

Equipment: CPU, mannequin,
barcode scanner and headset.

Autobiography is an installation that utilizes a mannequin as the interface, with barcodes on various parts of her body. The barcodes are taken from products that I use regularly and facilitate, to some degree, the story that is told at that particular body part. The viewer uses a barcode scanner to investigate the information linked to the different barcodes. The information triggered by the scanning is presented in the form of audio clips. The personal level of the information at each barcode depends upon how often the user scans that barcode; eventually delving deep enough that they will be denied further access. The computer program also keeps track of the current user’s scanning sequence for two purposes: 1) products linked to the individual barcodes scanned are provided to the user in an aural listing as a type of receipt for participating and 2) the possibility of triggering hidden stories that are not easily accessible or readily offered in conversations with the artist.

The mannequin becomes a representation of the barrier/façade that keeps you from knowing the real me; she mediates between the user and myself. Because I am not directly revealing information to the user, s/he may question whether or not s/he has been told the truth. The audio clips are meant to be superficial at first and become more personal as the barcode is scanned repeatedly. In the end, the user can assume s/he knows me, but do they really know me? To some it will appear as a collection of superficial sound bites, but to those who spend the time, there is an opportunity to construct the larger whole. For some users it will seem as though I have actually told them nothing, but woven together and interpreted properly, I have told you something, if not everything.