About this project
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Seeing-I is a social-artistic experiment that questions how much of the individual is an inherent personality and how large a portion of the individual is a cultural identity. Reflecting on various projects looking at the transformation of identity using digital technologies, such as Josh Harris’s We Live in Public and Sherry Turkle’s Alone Together, artist Mark Farid will attempt to engage with a broader spectrum of experiences by entirely immersing himself in the life of another person, whilst also looking at the implications of digital technologies.
For 24 hours a day for 28 days, artist Mark Farid will wear a Virtual Reality Headset through which he will experience life through another person’s eyes and ears - this person will be referred to as ‘the Other’. Mark has had no previous relationship with this person; he is only aware that the Other is a heterosexual male, who is in a relationship. The Other is required to wear a pair of glasses that covertly capture audio and video. This footage will then be watched back by Mark, who will inhabiting a space consisting of only a bed, a toilet and shower area. This area, as well as Mark will be on constant display to the audience.
However, once the Other goes to sleep, the audience will be asked to leave for one hour, so that Mark can be administered the care of a psychologist with special training in neuroscience, through the headphones. Mark will be wearing the V.R. Headset throughout, and this will act more as verbal diary, but will also allow the psychologist to access his mental health.
During the 28 days, Mark will have no actual interact with any human; no one will react to him, he will not be touched; he will be a silent spectator - he will, however, be under constant inspection. Mark will eat what the Other eats, drink what the Other drinks, shower when the Other showers and go to the toilet when the Other goes to the toiler, at the same moment. Otherwise, Mark is left to experience the life of the Other by himself, but will Mark embrace this life as if its his own?
Over the course of the project, it will become apparent whether Mark will begin to lose his own sense of self, and start to inhabit the reality of the Other. With no one to talk to, and no one to validate any of Mark’s thoughts, will his only source of validation - the Other’s life - become the life which makes sense to Mark? Equally, this may not happen: he may entirely retain his sense of self and exist in a strange no man’s land between his own identity and the Other’s.
The findings, whatever they may ultimately be, will be compiled into a documentary featuring discussion on what has happened from relevant academics, psychiatrists, psychologists, neuroscientists, philosophers and artists.
UPDATE #1
We have been asked a few times why the cost of this project is so high. We can assure you that we are asking for the absolute bare minimum to complete this project. In this Kickstarter Campaign, we are raising money for an experiment, a documentary and a piece of technology to be developed.
The Other’s glasses are a piece of technology that currently do not exist and the development of this technology is a costly process (For more information on the technical specifications of these, please view our FAQ's). The cinematic documentary we are going to make requires lots of equipment and the skilled people to pull it off and put it together. This includes documenting the whole event. The experiment will last 24 hours a day for 28 days (that’s a lot of hours - 672 to be exact).
The footage from The Other needs reviewing prior to it being sent to Mark’s headset so that there are no glitches in the video and audio. We need to note down when The Other goes to the toilet, showers and bathes, what time The Other is eating and drinking. Food then needs to be bought and prepared on-site, and delivered at the right time. For Marks wellbeing, we need a team of medically trained invigilators at all times to look after him 24 hours a day.
Whilst the experiment runs for 28 days, it also starts before and finishes after this. Due to this, we need to be able to asses any changes in Mark, and also aid his rehabilitation post the 28 days.
We know that it’s a lot of money, but when you take into account what we are trying to achieve, it is actually not a huge amount.
We really appreciate your interest in the project and encourage you to share and donate to help us reach our goal!
Thank you to everyone that has already supported us!
The team at Seeing I
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ART
Mark is an artist using performance to explore contemporary ideas of identity, reality and narrative, whilst pushing the boundaries of artistic actions and philosophical ideas.
The idea is to create a gallery-lab environment where the artist will live, eat, drink, shower and sleep for the duration of the 28 days. The project also raises questions of intimacy, surveillance and voyeurism in contemporary culture and gives an uncensored look into intimate moments of one’s life; when Big Brother meets Gogglebox.
SCIENCE
Our willingness for digital technologies take a more dominant place in our lives, obscures our experiences and how they affect our body and mind. And as a result, have started to change the way in which we see the world. As we spend more and more time looking at screens, our perception of the world changes, our perception of the other changes, and our understanding of ourselves change.
A behind the scenes video for a 24 hour test.
MEDICAL IMPLICATIONS
Seeing-I is a very complex project examining not only the way we experience the world, but how our habits are conditioned by our surroundings and technology. The end result is unknown to everyone, and has the potential for a variety of implications to Mark’s physical and mental health.
One thing that cannot be stressed enough, is that this is NOT an endurance test. If we feel that over the course of the 28 days it is going too far, if it could harm Mark in the long term, or have lasting effects, Mark will be told to take of the Virtual Reality Headset and end the project there.
Currently Mark is undergoing sessions with a psychologist in preparation for this project. Through these sessions, we can assess where Mark’s current mental health state is, and can then methodically compare how the events of the project have affected him. Mark will have a full medical check before and after this period, and will be required to talk to a psychologist for one hour a day for the 28 days (whilst still wearing the VR Headset). Medical personnel will be on standby throughout the project.
We have already spoken extensively to neuroscientists, and will continue to do so until the documentary is made, but we also welcome additional research by anyone who would like to be involved with the project. Extra analysis and examination will need to be discussed to make sure it does not hinder our core ideals, but we are very open to further contributions.
WHY 28 DAYS?
It is well documented but not proven, that we lose and develop habits after three weeks, so we have decided that four weeks is an adequate timeframe to give an indication of how these new habits have started to influence Mark. Mark will be experiencing the footage from the Other six days in the past. This allows the behind the scenes crew to prepare the food Mark will eat and drink. Mark will eat, shower and go to the toilet when the Other does, and interact with no one, except for the psychologist over the 28 day period. He will only experience artificial human interaction through the Other.
LOCATION
The gallery space - in London - will be the home for Mark during these 28 days. He will enter the space with the Virtual Reality Headset, unaware of his new surroundings. The space will comprise of a bed and table along with a shower, bath, toilet and sink. This space will be open to visitors where they will be able to see Mark for the duration of the project, but will obviously be unable to communicate with Mark.
VIRTUAL REALITY HEADSET
Virtual Reality equipment is not new but has recently been brought back to the attention within the media, with plans for Virtual Reality Headsets to come onto the market in 2015. These will give users new ways to experience the digital world, to play games and to watch films. From browsing the Internet to watching pornography, this digital reality is a physically solitary one. With our increasing usage of computers, tablets, and phones, our world is slowly shifting inwards into an individual experience, directed outwards by the different social media platforms we see and use more and more. Virtual Reality allows for a totally immersive experience into an environment that simulates the physical presence of places in the real world, allowing the user to lose orientation on one hand, and discover new worlds on the other. Will Mark lose his grasp on his own life through the introduction to a new, more virtual reality?
THE OTHER
The ‘Other’ refers to the person whose life Mark will be experiencing. Mark has no previous relationship with this person; he is only aware that the Other is a heterosexual male, who is in a relationship. Will the Other’s friends become Mark’s friends? Will the Other’s world become Mark’s? Will Mark’s immersion over the 28 days of the project result in Mark adopting this new life? The Other will be chosen through a selection process where anybody can nominate themselves on our website:
The Other will be selected by Mark’s Psychologist, a Neuroscientist and the Gallery Director.
THE OTHER’S GLASSES
The Other will be wearing a set of ordinary looking glasses which will have two concealed cameras built in, recording in 180 degree field of view, 24 hours a day for a consecutive 28 days. Along with two, built in binaural microphones to capture the audio. Everything will be recorded, from the exciting and intimate parts of the Other’s life, to the most boring and mundane activities such as brushing his teeth or sleeping.
See our FAQ for more information.
VIRTUAL REALITY HEADSET
Virtual Reality equipment is not new but has recently been brought back to the attention within the media, with plans for Virtual Reality Headsets to come onto the market in 2015. These will give users new ways to experience the digital world, to play games and to watch films. From browsing the Internet to watching pornography, this digital reality is a physically solitary one. With our increasing usage of computers, tablets, and phones, our world is slowly shifting inwards into an individual experience, directed outwards by the different social media platforms we see and use more and more. Virtual Reality allows for a totally immersive experience into an environment that simulates the physical presence of places in the real world, allowing the user to lose orientation on one hand, and discover new worlds on the other. Will Mark lose his grasp on his own life through the introduction to a new, more virtual reality?
THE OTHER
The ‘Other’ refers to the person whose life Mark will be experiencing. Mark has no previous relationship with this person; he is only aware that the Other is a heterosexual male, who is in a relationship. Will the Other’s friends become Mark’s friends? Will the Other’s world become Mark’s? Will Mark’s immersion over the 28 days of the project result in Mark adopting this new life? The Other will be chosen through a selection process where anybody can nominate themselves on our website:
The Other will be selected by Mark’s Psychologist, a Neuroscientist and the Gallery Director.
DOCUMENTARY
These 28 days are the social experiment that will lead to the production of a feature length documentary examining the notions discussed above. We are currently speaking to universities who are currently doing research into this field and are also in communication with multiple psychologists, neuroscientists, artists and philosophers who will offer key expertise for the range of topics over the course of the project. These discussions - before, during and after the 28 days - will be an integral addition to the documentary, as well as offering a way for any other contributors to enhance their own research.
The documentary is made with artistic intentions, but must also be considered as an anthropological and neurobiological study that offers a significant look into cognitive complexities. And for this reason, we welcome anyone to do their research into the project (see perk for more information).
FINALLY…
This is a very ambitious project, so there is a lot to take into consideration when it comes to cost. Just to give you an insight into the size of this project, Mark will require a team of medically trained invigilators at all times over the course of the 28 days as well as camera men, technicians and assistants on site 24 hours a day. This means sleeping accommodation and amenities must be provided for them onsite.
Onsite editors will be present at all times to process the footage of the Other’s life to ensure that there are no glitches, note down when the Other showers, goes to the toilet, eats and drinks. This job is crucial as the appropriate food must be prepared on time, and staff must be aware of when Mark needs to shower or go to the toilet in correspondence with the footage he is viewing.
The only way this experiment and documentary will go ahead is if we acquire the funding through KickStarter. This will ensure the findings remain truthful and unbiased. But even if you do not donate, please share this project as sharing is just as important in helping to tell the story of who we think we are.
Risks and challenges
Whilst the technology for the Other’s glasses does exist, it has not been implemented in the ways that we require. We are working closely with a glasses designer who will encase the electronics accordingly and design the bespoke pair of glasses within an attractive set of frames, as to not draw too much unnecessary attention to them.
Mark's mental and physical health is not taken lightly. We are currently in communication with multiple neuroscientists, psychologists and psychiatrists, and will continue to be up until the documentary is over. We will also be in communication with anthropologists and other experts throughout.
The duration - the 28 days, may be concluded early depending on how Mark is coping, and the 28 days could possibly be shortened depending on how testing and research goes.
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Funding period
- (30 days)