Silence is an open and empty space

Make sure you will be there in the moment of truth. It’s not what it first appears to be. Was there a reflection? When you have entered the dark you can not look back but only listen to yourself. You may find the source of silence. You may find a hidden story. Prepare to get a piece of it.

In May 09 the Loom team from Bauhaus University Weimar went to Tampere, a city two hours away from Helsinki in Finland. Not only did we have an inspiring week, but also received a warm welcome of our Finnish hosts. During a photography workshop together with finish students at the Tamk University of Applied Sciences we developed and built a performance based installation.

The result of this intensive cooperation was presented at TAF (Tampere Art Festival) in May 09. For two days visitors of the »Silence is golden« installation could actively participate in a portrait session. But the common procedure of taking a portrait of a person was modified in a way that neither the photographer nor the sitter were in control of the situation. The sitters where brought inside the installation with the help of an assistant wearing a golden mask, unable to discern the details of the setting. Once inside they were placed on a chair and the assistant left silently with the golden hat. It was not possible for the photographer nor the sitter to see each other because the room was totally darkened. The room was silenced to the point one could only listen to his own body. After an undefined period of time a sound was triggered. 
The moment when the photographer who remained hidden, silent and unseen by the sitter in one corner of the room, pushed the shutter release of a viewcamera. In doing so he was creating an unexpected event for the sitter: the moment of truth!

Because there was no deeper relationship between photographer and sitter than sharing the same room it was impossible for the sitter to apply his typical camera behaviour. The photographer became an automated trigger unable to control the sitter by his gaze. The results were always unpredictable and every participant got a Polaroid of this own crystallised self.