You there

This work originated in reflections on my experiences of distance and separation: distance between myself and absent loved ones, and also distance between myself and other people and places that are brought close to me through mediated images in the news. By distilling this reflection into two words, “you there” and repeating them, new possible meanings unfolded. 

What is the distance between us, between me and you, between there and here? Who is this you –  is it God? A lover? Is it a partner? IT support? Am I speaking to you – addressing you, recognising you, missing you, accusing you? Or are you hearing your own voice through mine?

The staging of the work provides a minimal grounding for these almost limitless possibilities. The table provides an edge, prevents you from getting too close to other people, suggests that perhaps you are waiting here at home for someone who is there, elsewhere. The generic character of the lamp evokes a public space, a non-place, keeping the scene indeterminate, leaving space for your projections. Each person who encounters the work brings their own associations and interpretations. Their meanings belong to them.