Borderline Stories
The interactive work “Borderline Stories” is about dispossession and immigration across geographical borders. It is a fluid and interactive work about the cultural context that it is placed within. As it is placed in different spaces, it becomes primarily about discussion and dialogue across various boundaries, economic, personal, and historical.
“Borderline Stories” is shown simultaneously on the web and is digitally projected as part of an installation in the gallery. The gallery-based installation includes a connection to the internet for online input of data. Visitors to the site and gallery are asked to submit three pieces of information; the geographical region that they live in, and who best seems to represent the character(s) of the story. They also may submit a short text why they feel their character selection is justified.
On a global map, 18 landmasses change size in relationship to the online data, getting larger or smaller depending on where visitors are from. The visitor may read and add to archived text responses. In correlation to this, the majority choice for 'who appears to be the subject of the story' is displayed.
The answers evolve over time, revealing different cultural contexts through which the subject is understood. In the version of Borderline Stories shown in Prague, a bi-lingual text was created to allow the local Czech audience to participate fully.
text excerpts:
It's very clear that my choices are determined by the fantasies I have about
these stories and by my own personal experience (having lived right beside
the wire of East and West Europe). It would be very important that people
come to that realization after playing for a while.
these stories make me think of the american who was fighting for the taliban.
you can't tell who is on what side anymore.
what I've seen here (I am from Western Europe), seems to me that there are problems with accepting different people into the mainstream in Europe. We have social programmes set up to assist people in need, but there are limits to how much we accept THEM socially.
Is this site about giving me some kind of an answer?
Or is it about me asking questions :)
what is going to happen to the information that's collected from this?
