That's All There is, 2019
Television, remote, chair, pedestal and raspberry pi
That’s all there is a video installation that develops a dialogue between viewer and the work through the activation of interaction. The work is a collection of videos captured by the artist and friends that document clips of things happening. These videos are approx. 10 seconds long and the content ranges from water on shorelines to highway traffic that have been collected over a period of 6 months. This piece is ongoing, as videos will continue to be added.
The videos are programmed into an old television that is situated on the plinth. In front of the plinth is a chair that brings you to eye level with the television screen when seated. There is also a remote that works as the interaction between the viewer and object. The viewer is able to sit with the work and change the channels, an identical action to how we change the channels on our televisions at home.
The videos on the television are all quick moments or memories that we have all experienced in our own context. The title is a commentary to the 1960s song, written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Is that all there is? In the song the singer performs a monologue that discusses different events from their life and asks if that is all there is. She begins with telling the story of watching their house burn down as a child, and follows the story by expressing her disappointment in the event. She continues to talk about going to the circus, falling in love and the inevitable fate of dying, unimpressed by each occasion and wondering if that’s all that there is.
