KIBLIX 2021 / Live stream Mark Farid: Seeing I: The Other Thursday, 4 March 2021, at 12 a.m. CET Live stream: kiblix.org/streaming
Focusing on real lives that are neither sensational, nor a spectacle, Seeing I: The Other explores the movement of people in 2020; how different cultures, societies, and languages affects one’s sense of self, and – especially during the coronavirus pandemic – the ability to share in one’s experience and world, only through digital technologies.
Seeing I: The Other shows different people’s lives from around the world streamed online, in a first person point of view, 360 degree field of view, 24-continuous-hour recording. Exploring how people respond to continuous and constant self-surveillance, whilst also testing bespoke technologies in real-life circumstances, Seeing I: The Other is a research arm of Farid’s larger project, Seeing I (2021), where Farid will live as one specific individual (the ‘Other’) for 24 hours a day, for two weeks in virtual reality, only experiencing what the Other experiences.
The second protagonist is Graham (34, Brixton, South London) whose life will be streamed on Thursday, 4 March from 12 a.m CET @kiblix.org/streaming. A first-person point-of-view, 360 degree video will show Graham's life from morning until evening.
Graham has been living in ‘sheltered accommodation’ for the last 9 months and is unable to legally work. A trainee electrician, in March 2020, Graham was sectioned for erratic behaviour. Released after two weeks as a result of a legal challenge to wrongful detainment, Graham was ordered to be placed in sheltered housing for two years. Unable to work until he has an assessment stating he is fit to work, he has been forced onto Universal Credit indefinitely. It has been 11 months since Graham was initially sectioned and forced to stop working, and he is still awaiting a date for his next assessment.
The European Media Art Platforms residency has allowed Farid to trial the use of the bespoke recorder internationally for the first time, allowing Farid to further understand the ways in which the personal characteristics, varying cultures and the location of the participants will help determine the final selection of the Other for Seeing I (2021). Farid asks the participants to simply wear the recorder and live their life as they otherwise normally would.
