In recent years, there has been a lively public debate about empathy. We’ve heard of empathy deficits, empathy gaps, empathy traps, and an empathic surplus. Against this background, together we will open the dialogue about empathy and look for common ground through a shared story. In a practical vein, we wonder: how can we hear the other speak, or present something to be seen by another?
We were wanting to make a work wherein we criticize how we consume objects and materials in our lives. What do we need and why can’t we throw things away? What are the things we feel emotionally attached to and why do we keep them? That led us to our main question: What would you take when a fire breaks out?
We talked a lot about the objects we have in our house. We were wanting to collaborate with our neighborhood, but after talking to them personally and sending them letters wherein we invited them to come over for an interview, or we could come over to their homes, we didn’t get any response. This also made us think of the context of the valuable object itself: in a private building that is not accessible to strangers.
The goal of OBJECT(IVE) is an interactive installation in which people start to question the personal relationship they have with objects that they don’t want to throw away. Combining skill and vision created the right setting for this installation. This installation recreates a slowly swelling fire break-out which causes the urge to grab an object to which you feel the most personally attached.
