This project is an experiment that looks at the transmission of effects in crowd behavior. New research in psychology suggest that the behavior of individuals in groups can be influenced by the hidden effects of pheromones that in turn cause hormones to be secreted in the blood of another. In this way our social actions can be understood to change our biology. Other more conscious behavioral effects can be seen in the way we respond to auditory and physical engagement, especially in the form of rhythm which is known to have regulating effects in the way it enhances our sense of collective purpose and common understanding. We feel this connection when we dance or sing together in unison, in these ways armies, dance clubs and religious orders purposely make use of this effect.

 

This project attempts to facilitate a situation in which these effects become visible. The work is a document of an event presented as if it is happening in real time. Everyone in the crowd was hooked up via headphones to a temporary FM radio station that was created specifically for the video shoot. The sound the crowd was hearing was designed to create a shared rhythm pattern that encouraged the group to move in unison. This sound however is mostly hidden from the viewer who is watching the video from inside the gallery. What the viewer hears instead is the sound of the approaching crowd perceived well before the crowd itself becomes visible. The purpose behind the crowd's behavior appears organized but is remains unclear and open to interpretation.

 

In the exhibition a double projection inhabited the same viewing space that the event was shot from, essentially become a window to the same street that the crowd had occupied.

 

Hyde Park Art Center  (outside)

Installation view. Hyde Park Art Center Video Projected flush to floor.