Are We A Community? (2025), Installation & Performance; 15-min; transparent nylon thread, transparent PVC strings with UV ink, tape, UV flashlight; 4m x 3m x 2m; Toronto, Canada
In this performance, I interact with the installation by moving through the space, allowing my body to bump into the strings and gradually destroy the work. Viewers are given UV and normal flashlights to interact with the installation and are invited to write their own text strips at a "station" beside it. The existing prompts address personal and societal insecurities or anxieties, such as ‘Do you have too much fat on your belly and legs?’ and ‘Will I be jobless next month?’
This work redefines “community” as the people physically present and interacting in the same space, rather than groups bound by abstract shared characteristics. As viewers interact with the work, they temporarily form a “community” based on their immediate presence and participation in the moment.
Thus, this piece critiques how traditional community definitions, while creating bonds and support for members who share specific identities or affiliations, simultaneously exclude those outside these boundaries and contribute tothe sense of societal alienation. It suggests that prioritizing abstract community identities may overshadow the genuine connections available through immediate, physical interactions with those around us.
