Sound installation containing a text that interacts with a crack in the wall for people to look through. The text was a part of a project to take art out in public spaces. Parking spaces along the Avenyn street in central Gothenburg were turned into art spaces. “Lådan” (the mobile box) was a project realised by Mari Lagerquist as a portable gallery to be taken to the public.
The text borders voyeurism touching on sensitive subjects regarding the unseen in our society.
“The crack”
I want to tell you something. It is not a secret. Can you see her? Look through the crack. Can you see her now? Does she see you? Does she know that you´re watching? I have seen them look for her. The other day they were standing by the ocean. Many of them. Just looking for her. They stared into the black water extending to the horizon. This they did all day until the night ate up the last rays of sun. Nothing. I dont understand why they didn´t see her. Perhaps they didn´t want to see her or even know what they were looking for. Maybe they were not looking in the right place. I had only seen her once before. Briefly. This time I didn´t realize it was her. They all look the same to me. Wet or dry. They all say that they´re happy. Do you believe that? They look at you with their smiling faces but you never know. They conceal the true reason behind their smiles. They fall through the cracks. Become voiceless. I could never imagine that they are happy. How could they be under these circumstances. Empty smiles try to elude me. Elude us all. Anonymity is what they are looking for. Hoping for. And we let them. It is easier for us. When you look through the crack you become anonymous in their world. Just like they are in yours. An invisible bystander that doesn´t care. You disappear from the face of this earth where the rest of us are concerned. And so do they. Do you feel liberation or guilt? In this game of pretending you have to want to look further. To see beyond the boundaries. Notice the cracks in their smiles and look through them. I have just told you something. It was not a secret.