passion survey
An ongoing, online passion survey, launched on Valentine's Day 2002, in the context of recent genetic knowledge, visualises ideas that surround the nature (we are little more than the product of our genes) versus nurture (we are a product of our environment / culture) debate.
The questions asked were:
what does passion mean to you?,
where does passion come from?
and is passion connected with finding joy?
Participants responses formed the evolving artwork, the worldwide web enabling the ideas to spread to many different peoples and places.
A video piece shown when the passion survey was first exhibited was a visual response to the questions by the artist.
While the premise for this artwork is absurd in terms of science, ideas from genetics are circulating in society and are fundamentally changing how we see ourselves and our living environment, although many refuse to reduce life to the lens of science. What do you think? (click on tab above to take part, anonymous responses welcome)
This ongoing online project /installation exhibit, makes use of the internet to gather many viewpoints, presents a broader metaphor for 'knowing' life, visually allowing a space for tensions between art/life and science to be experienced and re-examined. The typed email responses from all over the world, as 'samples', were placed in different sized petri dishes, depending on the size of the response. The dish also contained a blood coloured gel that simulated a medical specimen, the red, also the colour associated with passion. Each 'sample' was placed with others on a wall, the end result created a wave of ideas that flowed across the exhibition space. When this work was first exhibited at the Hugh Lane gallery a small circular video, projected just above the floor. This was my visual response to the survey: it showed feet, learning the steps of tango. The feet, were filmed as if a scientist was examining them to discover where passion comes from. More details of the project can be read in life in the round article
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