LiminalSpaces

Miri Segal
Need Some Body?
(A Composition for an Actor Operated by a Spectator)

A small cabin is located at one point in the exhibition space. The entrance
to the cabin is hidden from the public, and a single spectator can slip
inside and close the door behind him. A sign on the cabin will then light
up to signify that the cabin is occupied.  Upon entering the cabin, which
contains a monitor, a headset and a microphone, the spectator finds him/
herself “inside” the actor?s body: the image projected on the monitor
shows what the actor is seeing at any given moment, while the headset
transmits the sounds which the actor is hearing. The spectator can give
orders to his new “body” via the microphone.

The actor is initially seated in a designated place in the exhibition space,
beside a screen that is also equipped with headsets. Spectators in the
exhibition space can look at the screen and use the headsets to see the
same image and hear the same sounds transmitted to the spectator in the
cabin. (These spectators, however, do not hear the instructions the actor is
receiving). A mirror is situated next to the screen, and the spectator in the
cabin can become acquainted with his new body by asking the actor to
face the mirror. A board with a text describing the work is situated near
the screen.

The spectator in the cabin can activate the actor and communicate via the
actor with other spectators in the exhibition space. The subject of their
possible conversation is not predetermined; it can be politics, the contents
of the exhibition or even flirtation in the cafeteria…

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Miri Segal
Born 1965, Haifa, Israel.  Lives and works in Tel Aviv and Paris. Her work,
whether sculptural or using video, is often based on the unique internal
logic of the medium of projection, dealing with both its psychological and
optical aspects. The works relate between issues of phenomenology, of
sight and touch, to psycho-political sensibilities. Solo exhibitions include:
“Closed Circuits”, PS1 New York (2001); “Interfaces”, Tel Aviv Museum
(2002); “Capital Hill”, Lisson Gallery, London (2004); “Beautiful Hours?
Circus”, Dvir Gallery, Tel Aviv (2005); and “Bon Voyage (Love & Strife)”,
Kamel Mennour Gallery, Paris (2006).
MiriSegal@gmail.com
hp://www.dvirgallery.com/pages/artists/mSegal/