Mapping the Invisible: Site-specific — Stalkers

(Magic)proposed_placement

We are imagining our psychogeographic figure in this way…

We imagine the stalker as an distorted, attached, and elusive character whose behavior is fixed on a particular object or person. The stalker can blend in with society at large yet the act of stalking is not necessarily a generalized activity. There is always a specific target, certain ways in which one’s privacy is violated, and a particular power play at hand where the target is in put in a subordinate position relative to the stalker. For the stalkee (?), an eerie, on-edge vibe permeates through the air as a shadowy being feels omnipresent.

For our space, we chose make our sculpture more interactive by focusing the vibe of the stalker rather than a specific, targeted act of stalking itself. Instead of designing a sculpture fixed on observing a particular place (i.e. always looking into one window), we want to make our sculpture semi-hidden and for the object of the object of the stalker to be people passing by on Bates Hill. Some parts will go unnoticed until you just pass them — only for them to be out of sight when one looks back. Going about this at several points down the hill replicates the creepy, omnipresent feeling of the stalker

We are using this figure in order to…

We are attempting to use our figure to impose a creeping sense that the site is stalking those who interact with it. Since people most frequently walk down Bates hill, and our repeating, wide-eyed figure slowly becomes more defined as they move that way, it is our intention that people will perceive our figure as appearing with the intention of observing them. Transversely, by recognizing this sudden unexpected presence and observing it, we think that people will themselves become stalkers (i.e. observers with intention).

We are responding to our site in these particular ways…

We are using the natural topography of the site to help display our figures in a way that draws the audience’s eye to these installations. As people walk down (or up) the hill, the natural slope of the site (along with the various trees, rocks, and bushes) provides various ways to help partially conceal our figures, forcing the audience to have a more “searching” eye and adding a slight air of mystery.

We are working with these materials…

metal pencil rods to capture the silhouette of a person, changing from a simple pole in the ground to an abstract representation of the human body. We will use different fabrics to incorporate movement and hair to contribute to the creepiness aspect.

Author: mivi