Head Space

2016 4-Channel Sound Installation
Dimensions & Duration: Variable
Materials: Parabolic Speakers, Electrical Wires, Media player

Questions surrounding internal subjective space and the blurred edge of the private and the public are the motivations behind this project. I recorded four individuals speaking their minds. They were asked to vocalize what it would sound like if someone could hear their inner monologues. The installation presented these monologues through parabolic speakers, directional speakers that focus the sound into a localized zone, to emulate introspective subjective headspaces.

Each audio portrait is different and characteristic of the individual in ways that are not common to traditional portraiture. They are multilayered time capsules that glimpse into the complexity of identities faced with the task of expressing themselves. The vulnerability and honesty of the characters come out intimately. Using sound as a medium, I was able to tap into an area of subjectivity that is vulnerable. Internal monologues are arguably less guarded against identity expectations placed upon the individual from the external world.

Presenting the work in a public space contemplates the consequences of lifting the barriers preventing individuals from expressing themselves freely in public spaces. What thoughts are correct? What thoughts can be shared, and what thoughts are only private? What happens when our thoughts become public without our self-filtering? Do we always regulate our thinking with the panoptic belief that some other is always potentially listening?
I would like to thank Ella De Buck, Alex Tomlinson, and Clara Zinky for their willingness to allow me to record and share their internal monologues.

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