#virtual reality headset

SEEING I

For 24-hours a day, for 28-days, artist Mark Farid will wear a virtual reality headset, experiencing life through the eyes and ears of another: the Other.

Inspired by the ‘Stanford Prison Experiment’ (1971), Jean Baudrillard’s ‘Simulacra and Simulation’ (1981), and Josh Harris’ ‘Quiet: We Live in Public’ (1999), Seeing I will confine Farid to a gallery space in London, subjected to the simulated life of the project’s Other. With no pre-knowledge of, or existing relationship to the Other, the only details confirmed to Farid will be that the Other is in a relationship and at least eighteen years of age.

For the duration of the project’s 28-days, Farid will experience no human interaction relative to his own life, allowing his indirect relationship with the Other to become Farid’s leading narrative. Will the constant stream of artificial sights and sounds start to displace his own internal monologue?

Adapting the question of nature vs. nurture to the digital age, Seeing I will consider how large a portion of the individual is an inherent self, and how large a portion is a consequence of environmental culture. Will the 28-days alter Farid’s movement, mannerisms, personality, memory or rationale? Without freewill to determine who he is, will Farid’s consciousness be enough to deter significant changes?

Here: http://www.seeing-i.co.uk/