The Void
2012
I created two different spaces which reflected the two stages of my journey, before and after immigration. For this purpose, I made the space outside of the room available so that they could comfortably have time to play with the headscarf in front of the mirror in an open area.
But when they entered the room, because of the total darkness, they had to follow the rules dictated by my voice. --- This was the moment I became the authoritative figure. --- I minimized their options by keeping them in the dark and telling them what to do. I wanted them to feel a sense of release and freedom when they came out of the room.
There are two locations in the performance of The Void. One is outside in a courtyard and the other is inside of a dark room which reflected the two stages of my journey, before and after immigration. For this purpose, I made the space outside of the room available so that they could comfortably have time to play with the headscarf in front of the mirror in an open area. The headscarves are on a table next to the door outside of the dark room. On the table, there is a box with a two-sided mirror in the front and four steps of instructions, how put on a headscarf. There is a camera inside of the box, behind the mirror, that the participant cannot see. The camera recorded and documented the people’s reactions to putting on and wearing the headscarves. In the darkroom, there is a still camera and a video camera with night vision set up. I was behind the still camera in the dark room during the performance. I placed myself in the roll of the observer who has the authority to see people, even though they cannot see me. People were asked to wear the headscarf before entering the room. They are asked to enter one by one. When they entered the dark room, a woman’s voice asked them to go to the center of the room and find a chair. When they found the chair and sat on it, I shot their photo and they were shocked by the flash of light. After that, the voice, which was very direct, asked them to leave the room. When they entered the room, because of the total darkness, they had to follow the rules dictated by my voice. This was the moment I became the authoritative figure. I minimized their options by keeping them in the dark and telling them what to do. I wanted them to feel a sense of release and freedom when they came out of the room.
I had a general expectation of people’s reactions of the performance, but people’s responses to the piece were different. Many of them couldn’t find the chair, the part of the idea of the performance that was supposed to shock them, the flash of the camera in the dark room, did not happen, and some of them refused to wear the headscarf and they couldn’t participate in the piece. My main idea making the piece was to put people under control to experiment interrogation. For this purpose, I made the space outside of the room available so that they can have time to play with the headscarf in front of the mirror. Because of the lack of vision, they had to follow the rules dictated in the dark room. This was the moment I became the authoritative figure. I minimized the options for people in the darkness and dictated to them what to do. When they came out of the room, I wanted them to feel a sense of release and freedom.