This project evolved over 20 weeks in three distinct iterations. It began with an exploration of Jacques Rancière’s concept of the Emancipated Spectator, which suggests that spectatorship can involve interpretation, translation, and narration, inviting audiences to bring their own lived experiences into a performance. I was curious about how contemporary performance could deepen this exchange and offer even greater agency to the audience, especially in one-to-one participatory contexts where the performer’s role is also destabilised.
The first iteration, Talking: The Conversation Machine, was an immersive solo experience. Participants entered a space with a single chair surrounded by orbiting lights. Upon activating the "machine," a voice informed them they were joining an ongoing conversation with all past and future participants. They added their own spoken response, contributing freely to the growing dialogue.
The second version, Talking: The Internet Café, translated this idea into a digital setting. A world-built interface resembled a private chat between two users, but each message came from one of nearly 100 participants. Each user answered a question left by the previous person and posed one for the next.
The final iteration, Talking: The Public, was a 20-minute immersive installation shaped by all previous contributions. It featured staged environments like a pub and a living room, where audiences could eavesdrop via wireless headphones. Conversations, drawn from earlier recordings, were relocated into these familiar spaces, encouraging imaginative listening. A projection wall showed digital exchanges including Grindr chats, a Facebook Marketplace thread, and an Omegle call, all constructed from previous material. Visitors could also interact live via laptops in a recreated internet café and contribute through a central microphone. Unbeknownst to them, their voices were recorded and compiled into a final sound piece, played back in the closing moments of the exhibition.
