FINAL PRODUCT
Dripping water from the Ice pack.
Closed-up detail of the ice-cold curtains
Last few layers of ice curtains, which melts down the first
Half-melt ice pack curtains in the middle of the walkway
People walking in the installation
REACTION FROM AUDIENCE
The reaction from the audience are different from each other. Some of them say that, the moment which ice touches their skin without being prepare gives them goosebumps. Some says that my installation reminds them of a Thai movie named "Jun-Da-Ra" which is a very erotic movie. It is because the most famous scene from the movie was when the main character uses ice to rub against a female character. Some asked me before they even enter "is there anything in there that is rather dangerous?" Some of the audience found my installation to be amusing and relaxing due to the hot temperature from outdoor. It can be said that the installation was quite successful in terms of erotic through touching which was one of the keyword I mentioned early.
But saying that my installation was completely successful would not be entirely true. That would be considered as a lie. Most of the audience who walked through my installation did not receive the message behind it. I consider this part of the installation as a failure. Only 1 or 2 person asked me whether the installation was about life. Even the instructors who came to my installation did not mention anything about the message I was trying to give.
To conclude on the installation, I consider the installation to be not as good as it would be. I walked through obstacles along the way, which includes rebuilding and buying the installation again because half of it was trashed by the faculty's janitors the morning before the presentation. That tragedy causes my installation to not be 100% complete as like everyone would want their works to be. In order to improve the installations, I came up with several things that I conclude from documenting the audience:
- Let them walk into the installation 1 by 1. People who entered in pairs or groups seems to be amused with the ice and wetness. If people walk in alone, maybe they would took more time to investigate the installation.
- The path is too straight forward. Redesigning patterns of the ice pack curtains to redirect the path that people will take and make it more unpredictable.
- Make brochures with brief description of the installation.
- Cut out the meaning part? concentrate only of the touching experiences.
- Hang other materials which would relate to other meanings which supports the concept?
Lastly, I am quite happy with my installation and in see people walking through my installation with different reactions, it was very enjoyable to observe the reactions. I think I was going too fast with the process, eager to finish it on time. I was afraid that using ice will not be successful due to the amount of variables I need to deal with, so the time spent on the concept and procedure was not enough, causing weakness in concept.
EROTIC INTERPRETATION
For me, the word erotic goes only in one direction. Erotic involves a couple, it involves a couple, it involves love, and it surely involves sex. My own definition of erotic can be described through action between 2 people, or between a person and a medium, or even a person and an object. From the first project, the erotic photographs, I focus mainly on taking photographs of obvious eroticism and objects which made me feel tempting to touch or observe it. It seems like my definition of erotic involves touching very strongly. So the installation I've accomplished on the second project answers my own question or what is erotic?
