Left or Right?
This short film presents footage of individual pathways driven by decision-making each day during the O-Day festival.
The movement of particles is directed by the answers collected on-site, flowing to the left or right.
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The interactive installation Left or Right? by Lila Rui Lan and Natascha Christina Petersen invites visitors to experience the act of decision-making. Through helmets built and programmed by the two artists, participants are questioned about themselves and their lives, whilst their answers are recorded and layered into a visual representation of choices, which will finally be revealed in a short film showcasing unity rather than solitude, displayed on the front page of this website.The installation takes the form of a meditation space of two zones, marked by four towering columns, and a fifth column in the centre of zone one. Participants enter the space to begin their journey in zone one, and as they wear the presented helmets, the embedded algorithm is activated, triggering YES/NO questions and beginning their journey. Participants respond by pressing buttons on the side of the helmets and walk either right or left based on their answers, an action that is recorded for later representation in the short film.While venturing through the space, the participants are suddenly met with a moment of suspense as they reach the threshold of the first zone. In this suspended moment, they must decide: stay within the system, or step beyond it. Those who choose to step out are now offered an opportunity to choose between glimpses of worlds, facing themselves and their choices in life. Now, the participants are faced with a new series of inquiries, probing the motives and implications of their departure from the known.This work simulates lives propelled by choices. Each one opens or closes paths. It examines the tension between individual agency and asks what happens when we are faced with our choices. Do we remain within the comfort of the known, or leap into the unknown? And most importantly: what does it mean to make a choice? Can any choice ever truly be our own?
ABOUT TEAM
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Natascha Christina Petersen (b. 1994 BR/DK) is an interdisciplinary artist currently based in London. Her practice plays in the intersection of mediums and processes like photography, installations, interactive designs, new media, sculpture and moving images. Nataschapetersen.com
Lila Rui Lan (b. 1996, CN) is a London-based artist working in photography, collage, video, and installation. Her work explores human-tech tension through playful, engaging, and thought-provoking narratives, marked by a distinct visual aesthetic. ruilanlila.com
Karoline Faxe (b. 1994, DK) is a Copenhagen-based structural engineer and editor of the book ‘Mit Lerhus’. She's on the board of Netværk for Bindingsværk where she works to preserve the knowledge we have of traditional building techniques and exploring integrational possibilities into modern constructions to enhance longevity of buildings. Her passion lies in historical structures, restoration, traditional building and sustainability. Karoline is consulting on material, sustainability and afterlife on Left or Right?. [email protected]
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This journey will take approximately 3.5 minutes.Please do the following:1. Adjust the anchor on the column to the height of your eye level.
2. Put the helmet on.
3. The system will start in 30 seconds - follow the instructions in the glasses
4. When answering ‘YES’, press the right button on the helmet and take one step to the right.
5. When answering ‘NO’, press the left button on the helmet and take one step to the left.Please return the helmet at the end of your experience.Enjoy
Natascha, Karoline and Lila