Can You Hear Me?

Inspired by the awkwardness of Holiday Zooms, I set out to explore the ways in which we perform these deeply engrained social rituals across electronic mediums. What gets lost in translation? What happens when we try to construct a physical experience over a virtual platform?

 

To do so, I constructed a mid-twentieth century diner set-up, complete with cutlery, plates, and crystal glasses (all the food items and china are white). The viewer is invited to pull out one of the wicker chairs and take a seat. When the projector is turned on, the feast comes to life: the glass bowl with milk turns into a sloshing bowl of red punch, the container of plain yogurt into a pink strawberry trifle, and the plaster bundt into a jiggling jello salad. As the dinner commences, the jello gets carved away from the platter and served onto the couple's plates. Sounds of gummy chewing, disgusting slurping, and failed Zoom audio connections echo throughout the space, leaving behind lingerings of what this event could have been, but now never will be. 

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Click into the video on the top right to expand it and watch it with audio.