Project 7: Ritual (Performance)

Constant work and pressure results in my invention of coping mechanisms to reduce tiredness and boredom in my life: blinking my eyes, moving my pupils, looking at people - I reduce eye strain through sitting back and regaining my senses. Through unconscious eye movements, I relax my mind and recharge my energy for a new day.

That is the idea behind my piece this week, in response to the prompt Ritual - Performance.

As I intimidatingly direct my eyes towards viewers, I hope to attract people to join in and take a breather every once in a while in their hectic lives.

I set this project up by first turning on the monitor. Then, I used Zoom to connect the phone, the laptop, and the monitor all together to show the same camera feed. Then, I sit and meditate as I control my eye movements. Whether it is staring at people or constantly blinking my eyes, I highlight the constant movement of a body part that people don't usually realize, while sit back in one place as I relieve myself off of the daily stress. I am personally proud of figuring out how to connect the monitors together to display the same feed, and that it is a camera feed - using the functionalities of Zoom that I was reminded of from times of COVID.

Performing at the art exhibit, I was initially a bit nervous because people were staring at me as they go by. Some people even commented that "This is so weird", or "What is happening? " in their surprised voice. However, as time go by, I began to take those comments as compliments because they have never seen anything like this before. Some people soon figured out that it was Zoom that I was using, and told me that this is an interesting way to use this program. While there were times when I was tired, I think it was worth it in the end, as I received many different reactions from the audience as they suddenly came across giant moving eyeballs when strolling through the exhibit space.

Materials:

- Laptop

- Monitor

- Iphone

- Phone holder

- Pedestals

- White clothes

Setting up

Sketches

Sketches

Sketches