Yolanda Ren - Private Public Space

Private Public Space (2024), Interactive Installation; 10 days; polyester film, markers, projector, pedestal, flashlight; 2.5m x 2m x 1.5m; Toronto, Canada

This is a semi-enclosed triangular space where viewers can crawl inside through the small gap to experience the work's interior mylar space, see their reflections and doodle whatever they want to: no instruction was given, except for the scattered markers and a few phrases initially written by the artist. A "projection window" opens and connects to a computer screen outside the artwork, allowing for communication between the inside and outside of the space.

This work begins as a deeply personal refuge, akin to a secret hideaway from childhood, yet it resides in a public gallery as the collected crystallization of shared experiences and sometimes memories. As viewers interact with it, leaving their graffiti and phrases on the mylar surface, the space evolves into a message board recording those who were here, and further becomes evidence of history, inheritance, and playful interaction.

It suggests that personal experiences and histories are interwoven into what we call a collective memory. This intentional creation of a piece of collective memory can be seen as a critique of individualism, promoting a more interconnected, communal approach to understanding identity and history.

Outside view

View from inside through the mylar

The display patch in the beginning of the exhibition period

Transining...

The display patch by the end of the exhibition period

Mylar (process documentation)

Hand contour in the beginning

Hand contour during the exhibition period

The initial setup

The projector

The projector by the end

Explanation

This work is about how accumulation of individual viewers' experiences and histories can crystallize into the doodles, forming a kind of collective experience—or even a concept analogous to "cultural continuity" or "heritage".

The reflective mylar symbolizes "the subject": the individual, the "I" who steps into this space. The setup draws a clear boundary between the created triangular-shaped world and the outside world, with the latter's content gathered and represented on the laptop. The external world always reaches out to the subject, with communication symbolized by the projection.

As the work evolves throughout its 10-day duration, it develops its own history like an inheritance passed down through time. This pushes the boundaries of interactivity and explores the dynamic and temporal nature of a time-based installation to an experimental extent.

Mindmap

Thought Process

Questions I had to make this work interactive and time-based: What can art become when it prioritizes viewer experience and action? Can an artwork maintain coherent identity if its interpretation is really shaped by each viewer's thoughts, experiences, and interactions? Does increasingly interactive art risk becoming a “service” rather than independent expression of the artist – and is that acceptable? Should the concept of art even be intentionally shaped, or does it simply emerge from societal progression? I.e., after Fluxus redefined art as accessible practice to everyone rather than specific groups’ privilege, should we intentionally craft this practice towards a certain form which may potentially be more interactive, and if so how should we continue developing it as a unique element of our culture?

Testing (process documentation)

A video documentation of the artwork by the end of the exhibition period:

https://youtu.be/3oGHQ1duyJs

An Incomplete Record of Viewers' Interactions and Reflections During the Two-week Exhibition

The first viewer: it feels like being in a sci-fi setting, communicating with creatures from another world, because the material is inherently sci-fi.
The second viewer: it feels like another world, which I call "the silver world". I imagine a host of creatures locked inside, longing to come out and explore the world (she cut out items she was with and sticked them to the mylar wall: movie tickets, Starbucks labels, TTC tickets, snack bags, etc.) Emotionally, it also resembles the comfort space I used to create as a child using pillows.

reply to my prompt

On the floor

On the mylar sheet that's hanging

"The world belongs to the three-body, let me join ETO!!!" (referring to a sci-fi novel)

On the mylar sheet hanging

A bow tie

The bow tie by the end of the exhibition

My prompt

3th: It feels like a safe space, where I feel secure, similar to the comment boards found in exhibitions and galleries, where visitors leave their thoughts after experiencing the exhibits. This inspired me to write down my own thoughts and feelings. I wrote some poem lines because they match what I feel about this project, as it will
eventually be taken down one days so are the thoughts written here.
(She also wrote her favorite poem lines: “you are not others. -- Borges, Jorge Luis” (on the display patch) and “Your matter is time, ceaseless time. You are each solitary moment.” (in the mylar space) both in Spanish.
The previous line was responded later by the 6th viewer by: “stop reading nonsense, my boy, better bring some sodas. – your uncle” in Spanish also.)

4th: I reflected on myself a bit in the space (drew myself), and simply wrote down what I was thinking at the moment.

"Your matter is time, ceaseless time. You are each solitary moment."

"Does time not exist?"

"You are no long the same as before when I reach you ♡"

"What should we do? The world needs more love!!! Let's unite and stop prioritizing profits"

5th: the other world; a space where one can write anything.

6th and 7th: a place of alienation.

8th: like a comment board.

9th: and 10th: It feels like a private reflective space at first. As we stand up and see more of the phrases on the wall, it feels like the outside world enters this space, and we are communicating with the world in a positive way, as the content is warm-hearted.