photos by Roald Aron

According to German philosopher, Edith Stein, empathy represents experiencing another person’s experience and has its roots in the attempt to position oneself in the standing of another, from a sentimental point of view.

Titled „Erlebnisse” in German, these experiences can represent various types of feelings. 

Our interactive work attempts to visually achieve the feeling of being touched and following in the emotional footsteps of another person through a three step process: active listening, osmosis and sympathy. 

Once in front of the installation, participants will hear recorded experiences of people meant to initiate the empathic process. The defining stage that separates empathy from other human experiences is emotional osmosis, rendered in the installation by projecting multiple images of the participant’s body. The 3D shape that images are projected on fulfills two purposes: it stands for a person with whom participants try to empathize, but also as a mirror that reflects the participant’s image. In the last stage, sympathy, the participant returns to a better understanding based on the earlier stage of transit.