‘House’

House: Telepathy by Word Association

Word Association is a game in which a pattern of words is established, based on a connection, or a response, to the word that has come before it. It is believed to reveal subconscious personality traits or underlying correlations that could be tied to one’s past. The artists will use it for an additional purpose: to indicate a telepathic connection between them.
The artists will begin with a word - House. Each artist will each find a space in the Sober and Lonely residency that is out of earshot of the other artist. Both with begin recording their voice, starting with the common word, and then using word association to string together connected terms for one minute.

Each artist will then write down, from the recording, the sequence of words spoken by the other. This will result in two lists of words of relatable lengths. The lists, when compared, will result in new interpretations. For instance, if one artist has said: “Red” at the same point in the sequence that the other has said “Car” - a new meaning can be formed from this. The artists will then collect visual items that (for them) represent each term mentioned in their list. These items will be displayed on two tables. Each list of items will run the length of the table (left to right), one list in the foreground and one in the background, one for one. This will result in a ‘grid’ of objects, that both reference each artist’s sequence of associations, and the telepathic connections, or misconnections that occur object for object.

This experiment will take place while the artists are present and together, but this will be the first of many. This is intended as an ongoing investigation, to continually re-evaluate the strength or weakness of our telepathic connection in varying environments, together and apart.

In association with The Sober & Lonely Institute of Contemporary Art (SLICA) Oh My, Oh My: from the annals of a great telepathic affair, that will be housed at Convocation House, Johannesburg from 1 August to 25 November 2011. www.oh-my-oh-my.blogspot.com/