Option 4 – Trap Game

P
U
F

Worktype: Immersive interactive installation(I feel like this mode is more of a game)

Work Description: There are some very hot posts on Tiktok or Facebook, and the stories they tell are very boring. So why do these posts get so much traffic? Because they take a part of this boring thing and intercept it, then twist it to make it interesting and then post it online. Then this post arouses our curiosity and we start to learn about the whole thing frequently by searching for keywords. We end up wasting our time trying to understand a boring story. It’s a trap, but one we’re happy to jump into, only to end up complaining about not having the time. It’s a time-wasting installation that reproduces the process exactly.

Tech Specs:

  • An iPad or touch screen: placed at the entrance
  • One display screen(small): placed at the entrance
  • Several overhead(top) lights
  • Several speakers: For playing sound clues. Controlling the volume (the volume that can only be heard when the visitor steps inside the aperture)
  • Several led light strings: Used to pave the way
  • One display screen(medium or large): placed at the exit
overhead(top) lights
led light strings

Sound elements: (The same sound clues will recur, as well as unrelated sound clues)

  • Several sound clips (sound clues): sounds that arouse curiosity, such as a girl screaming, slamming a door, cutting a chopping board with a knife, two people arguing or a person talking (blocking out key information, e.g. I’m telling you – bleep -, you’re a – bleep -)
  • A complete sound story: a boring story pieced together with sound clues that have appeared before

Three outcomes are envisaged:

  • The visitor is not intrigued by the sound clue of the entrance and chooses “No”, so he keeps his time.
  • The visitor’s curiosity is aroused and he enters the exhibition (he can be reminded to turn on the stopwatch in his mobile phone to record his time), and he gets lost in the clues, does not reach the end and leaves through the entrance. He will see on the screen that you have wasted your time and got nothing.
  • The visitor’s curiosity is aroused, he enters the exhibition (he can be reminded to turn on the stopwatch in his mobile phone to keep track of time) and he makes it to the end. He will hear the full story (the man comes home and sees that the woman has cooked something he doesn’t like, the two have an argument. The woman slams the door and leaves, and just as she walks out she is startled by the dog that suddenly comes out). And see a sentence displayed on the screen, please turn on your phone and see the time you have lost.

Why do I set a choice at the entrance?
This is like the first post we come across. The event piques your curiosity, you start to want to explore the event and your time starts to pass.

Reference installation:

  • The Yawn Chorus, Alex Rothera, 2021
  • Flight, Darkfield, 2021

Sources of inspiration: I was watching Odd Taxi, a Japanese anime, when I saw this line spoken by the main character to a college student obsessed with internet traffic. I started to think, I also spend time in the social world of the internet so what do I get out of it? I don’t post, so I’m sure I can’t get traffic, I can’t cash in on it, and so I’m even less likely to get money. So, am I mentally fulfilled or relaxed? Very little. Whenever I learn about the whole thing with great interest through one keyword after another, I feel more like. Ah, what does this have to do with me, why am I searching for this thing, will it change anything for me? No.