how they see us.
For this project, I wished to create a performance video piece in which I examine the dangers of stereotyping, and how it can create an “us vs. them” mentality. More specifically, I would like to critique the way in which our society likes to “map out”, or categorize, people into discrete categories. While this may be an efficient way of viewing reality, the fact is that we exist together, as many parts of the same world. The risk in categorizing people into “this” or “that” category is that we run the risk of seeing the “other” as simply “dangerous” or “to be avoided”. Basically, the idea that we are all either “this” or “that” and that “this” has to be afraid of “that” or vice versa leads to more unnecessary human suffering than can ever be described. While stereotyping is efficient, it prevents us from seeing each and everyone one of us as parts of a whole. It prevents us from seeing ourselves in one another. It kills empathy. For this piece, I was primarily inspired by artists Kimsooja and artist Allan McCollum, who I researched for this project.