See/Saw

see/saw is an interactive installation in which visitors’ manipulations of a real see-saw control the fluctuation of power and emotion in the story of an intimate relationship. A pair of words are projected on the walls behind the people on the see-saw—one word from each pair on the wall behind each person. As visitors see-saw up and down, new pairs fade in and out based on the angle of the see-saw. Participants’ motion also causes an audio track heard through speakers embedded in the see-saw to advance. When participants stop moving, the audio fragments into an ‘up’ and ‘down’ segment heard by the ‘up’ and ‘down’ participant respectively. The audio clips relate to the projected word that each person can see, and the ‘up’ or ‘down’ position in the narrated relationship. This piece, along with Come to Pieces—an interactive video portrait, were created during Chapman and Utterback’s month long residency at Grand Central Art Center in 2001.

(Source: author website)