This experiential installation is an interpretation of Frost's poem,
'Fire and Ice'.
The 'Illusion of choice', was the theme around which the project was developed and the cruel nature of Nature, referred to in the poem, justifies the context of the experience.
The experience is a one-on-one interaction, between the visitor and the
actor, in a semi-controlled space. The visitor enters a confined glass box
of 2 x 2m, in darkness only to see a dying man lying on a hospital
bed with a chair by his bedside.
ABOVE: Actual setup inside the box
The rate of the heartbeat starts increasing rapidly and the volume of the ECG machine heartbeat increases with it. Simultaneously the patient/performer starts going out of breath, experiencing laboured breathing, while the red flashes increases pace.
The patient goes into cardiac arrest, within a minute after the option to save his life is given to the viewer. The lights are cut out, and the viewer is left in silence in the 'Black box' with the 'dead body'. A pre-recorded voice narrates the poem 'Fire and Ice' by Robert Frost and the warm LED lights fade in, wall washing the four surfaces of the 'Black box'.
BELOW: Frei Otto's box
The box was located amongst a foliage, isolated, hence the isolation and conditioning of the visitor starts from the journey to the box itself; preparing the visitor for the oncoming individual experience.
BELOW: Promotional Poster 210 x 210 mm
BELOW: ECG Graph Effect and Soundscape
BELOW: Documentation of the setup
