Siddarth Saikia to debut Waterbody at the Soap Factory!

[johnwkim]

Congratulations to Sid whose piece, Waterbody, is to debut at the Soap Factory Nov. 19. See description below.

Technically: I've built four large (6'x6') rear-screens onto which underwater footage will be projected. The footage I took is of something called water therapy, it's a therapeutic immersion in water. The patient floats lifeless in a pool with small weights attached to their ankles and wrists. The therapist then moves the patients around and under the water, contorting their limp bodies against the resistance of the water and bringing them back up for air. This footage would be looped on the 4 screens which would be hung as an open square (I.e two opposite corners would be open to let viewers in and out). The viewers would be allowed to walk all around the installation including in front of the projector, interrupting the image and inserting themselves (via their shadow) into the image.


Conceptually: I wanted to create a physical interaction with the image because I feel that typical viewing environments (cinema theaters) pacify people. Darkness and immobility create an absence of physical stimuli which in turn promotes the viewer's investment in the singular image. I wanted to experiment with contextualizing images in physical space. This installation is aimed at creating a physical connection with the viewer, as inside the square they are surrounded by an immersive environment of water, with life size bodies floating around. The are also subjected to the viewers on the outside of the square, whose shadows are inserted into the image. Their experience of the images change as they move through the space. The viewers become performers in the very image they are viewing.

View Sid's profile.