Beginning around 11am London time tomorrow, (aka 6am EST), I will be asking you, and those following the #GreyMatter hashtag to complete the phrase, “I am from…”

Watch/participate online here.

Quite simply, I want to know where you are from. Literally and/or figuratively, with as much detail as you’d like to share. I will then interpret your responses by choosing a varied length of multi-colored thread, and tying it to a dowel. The performance will be ~8 hours on Saturday and ~8.5 hours on Sunday. The two dowels have been marked so that every two inches equals one hour. A system will be developed in real time based off your responses that determines the length and color of each thread.

Additionally, visitors to both the Netil House and the V&A Sackler Center in London will be asked the question, “Where are you from?” and encouraged to place their thumbprint onto a large piece of paper. In this instance, the crowd is given the freedom to develop their own system (or not) in relationship to an abstract geographical representation of their identity. And I know that’s a of words, and this is all kind of heady, but this is nebulous by design. I’m not really sure what we’re doing with this yet, what we’re prying into, but that’s exactly what excites me about it.

After the performance concludes on Sunday we will have two sheets of paper with thumbprints on them; one from West London (V&A), and one from East London (Netil House). What will these look like? How will people respond over time, in relationship to each other?

We will also have two dowels with thread tied to them. How will those look? What patterns will emerge? Will Saturday’s online participation be markedly different than Sunday’s? How?

If you’re still confused, no worries. All you really need to know is the hashtag, #GreyMatter, and that I’ll be asking you to complete the phrase “I am from…”

As always, I appreciate your continued support, interest, and participation. And if you know anyone near the London time zone who might be into this, send ‘em on over! :)

http://manbartlett.com
http://alpha-ville.co.uk/man-bartlett

xx

P.S. A huge thank you to the amazing folks at alpha-ville who are making this project possible. Their team over here rocks.