Proposal for Judy
By Tony Oursler
Published in Written in conjunction with "Judy" an installation at Salzberg Kunstverein
Apr. 5, 1994
The rise of Multiple Personality Disorder, MPD, in the USA during recent years and its connection to media have informed my plans for the production of the installation for the Kunstverein in Salzburg. The installation will take the form of a number of figures which 'transform' into one another in a rough line across the gallery. The progression of interrelationships can be traversed by the viewer/participant who is also invited to sit within the group structure and interact with it by working a remote control camera. The figures/objects are sparsely constructed dummies/scarecrows and dolls, piles of dirt and pieces of furniture which represent various aspects and manifestations of MPD within a fictitious individual. A number of these figures/objects are given voice and expression by means of projecting video images upon them. Thus a composite image can be perceived by the viewer/participant, much like all the characters of a drama performing independently at the same time (while in reality one would experience only a few aspects of the illness at a time).