General:
The spectator is forced to violate the privacy of a young citizen as he enters the exhibition rooms: the staged room of a male teenager forms the gate to the exhibition.
Furnishings and equipments appear animated and untidily rifled through: there's an opened laptop on a desk, signalizing availability. There's a punching bag hanging from the ceiling, dangling unsecured above the bed. Above a white sofa, there's a graffiti embellishing the wall. It reads "HipHop f.t.p.".
By combing through the room, a huge variety of details can be discovered. All things put together, they form a kind of psychological apparatus (>dispositif, according to Foucault) of the absent resident.
How do we see "the teen"? How does the media influence our perspective on teens? How do they see themselves? In what way and to what extent does the transference of constructed identity influence one's perception of a social role?
Computer and Sound:
The screen displays the full size logo of the video sharing website YouTube. Over the opened screen headphones have been placed. Dull sounds and voices can be heard.
The sound track of Boyroom is based on research footage from YouTube: The audio tracks from the collected footage were extracted and put together as a playlist.
The YouTube Playlist can be watched on:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=EE9D97BEAE7FC236
Duration: 2.5 h
About:
This collaboration of Anet Hofer and Brigitte Daetwyler was realised with the help of Karolina Braegger, a 14-year-old grammar school pupil from Zurich. She gave inputs to appearance / styling as well as furnishings and equipments. Hofer and Daetwyler provided books, figurines, personal items and all furniture. The wall decorations were made by Karolina.
Boyroom from Brigitte Dätwyler on Vimeo.
Mixed Media Installation and Video:
brigittedaetwyler.ch/mixed_media/boyroom
© by Brigitte Dätwyler 2009
filmed at Stiftung BINZ39 in Zürich, Switzerland