[Experiment in Empathy]
Access is an interactive, durational art performance presented by Hamish Annan.
Created in collaboration with Katie Burson and Rob Byrne the piece invites the audience to both witness and experience an array of emotions.
The piece is formed from a few simple elements: two chairs are set facing each other from opposite ends of a rectangle marked out by white tape on the wooden floor; two flood lights set on the diagonal cast their light across the chairs; and two sets of instructions taped to the walls provide a structure to the experience. Annan takes one chair, a glass of water on the floor anticipating the physical toll of the work, and the audience are scattered around the four sides of the rectangle looking in.
The instructions list the emotional states the audience might elicit from Annan (Aggression, Happiness, Lust, Fear, Grief, or Disgust) and indicate that in order to do so the audience member must simply step into the rectangle, sit on the empty chair, and name the desired emotion.
Between interactions Annan is in a neutral state, poised lightly on the chair, his face a mask of stillness. Then, as an emotion is named, Annan transforms in an expression of that emotion, sometimes silently, sometimes in wracking sobs, or even in howls of laughter. All is wordless. The face and the body contorting or slackening in turn to convey the fullness of these states.
It is an uncanny experience to stand silently and witness the outpouring of these emotions. It is stranger even to become aware that the design of the piece has resulted in multiple possible focal points and that you yourself may be being watched as you react to the moment. The audience participant becomes as eye-catching as Annan; you cannot help but seek some kind of response and meaning in their face as they become the object of aggression, lust, or fear. Equally it is impossible not to register the emotional responses flickering across the faces of the other audience members.
The audience, even in attempting to passively view the work, is pulled in and made part of the experience. As a result each state becomes more than witnessing, it is a communal construction, an experiment in triggering the empathetic responses of a group.
For such a moving and curious piece it is a pity that it is not staged in a more publicly accessible venue with constant foot traffic and thus the opportunity to reach a larger audience. Studio One Toi Tū, while a very adaptable space, does not offer the steady flow of potential participants which would allow Access to really shine. Hopefully this work will be performed again.
Note: Since attending the performance last night the social context of shared emotion has shifted following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. A great outpouring of grief and sadness, but also anger and relief, has welled up here in Aotearoa New Zealand and around the world. The work will perhaps take on new meaning as audience members and participants bring a fresh sense of both communal and public expressions of emotion. Offering the opportunity to weep together or laugh together may be the tonic many need in this time.
Access plays Studio One Toi Tū and Ellen Melville at various times 4-11 September, 2022 as part of Auckland Fringe.
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