Assignment

Every day the city presents us with ever-unfolding activity. Sometimes we choose what we witness, other times we are accidental witnesses. Find an event, a happening, an action (it could be something that repeats/cycles or happens once – it could be humble in scope/scale or grand and spectacular). Place yourself in relation to this event (distantly or intimately) and become ‘witness’ to it. What does it mean to witness an event? Where and how do you place yourself in relation to the event? How can you document and/ or crystallize this experience in a series of images to then impart the experience to another individual (the viewer)? After developing and image series and/or documenting the event – form a 2D printed image sequence using Adobe InDesign. Consider how and in what order (if any) the images would be best presented – a book? a timeline of images? an accordion book? a flip book? something that moves?

The Project

Explanatory Statement

I often witness my roommate, Joen, haphazardly cross the street even when the “Walk/Stop” sign counts down to zero. Her actions became the event that I chose to center around for this project. In an effort to capture the sequence of time in her movements, we walked through many streets and I followed her footsteps an reactions with a camera. I realized by studying her expressions that the moment she set foot onto the pavement, there is a split second of hesitation. By looking back and forth, time passes by and there’s a sense of urgency as one decides whether or not to take the risk.

Instead of capturing many images, I to choose 3 images that represent the shift in emotion, action, and time. To present the series of images as a sequence, I sewed them into a garment made out of various denim materials. Since Joen was wearing denim during our shoot, I thought it would tie in more cohesively than using any other types of fabric. The placement of each piece was also an important factor. From the front, side, and back view, the audience can visually interact with the garment. They can feel the sense of time as the body shifts from one side to the other. The captions were placed upside down while the images are right side up so that both the audience and the wearer of the garment can gain a perception of the piece.

Clothes are made to be worn. I chose my suite-mate and not just any of my friends to wear this garment because we’re basically separated by one wall. Me and my roommate are closer to each other than we are to our suite-mates because of the walls that separate us, but we still share the same common area. Even though we live together, she doesn’t hang out with me as much as I do with my roommate and only knows what we’re doing when we leave the door open. For my suite-mate to wear it, it’s like she’s seeing what we’re doing/creating from the perspective of someone peeking around our door.