you are
performance with my mother
"Open SEA"; The Substation; Singapore. 2006
My mother and I face each other through a large glass panel in the wall that looks out onto the street. I am inside the gallery while my mother is on the outside.
We take turns speaking aloud an adjective describing the other person, which cannot be heard through the glass between us. One person speaks, while the other tries to read her lips, and writes on the glass what she thought had been said about her. Meaning makes its way silently through the barrier, occasionally intact.
Viewers are free to move in and out of the gallery to hear what is actually being said on each side, but are always still only able to hear one person at any given time.
photos by: Young Tan