Inside at Night | shirabarak

Inside at Night, 2016

Inside at Night is an installation composed of several 3D sculptures and a wall piece. The space is lit in blue and its temperature is set to 18°C.

Tiny hospital furniture and figures are calmly displayed on the entrance wall, appearing as objects waiting to be used in some weird stage play. Massive curtains are placed in the middle of the space, separating the odd tools and figures from an empty tribune, facing an open window.

The installation's main motivation originates from identifying the theatrical DNA of the hospitalisation experience and the hospital itself.

The patient, the hospitalized person and the hospital staff, are all required to fill in their parts, each consisting of specific codes of behavior.

The hospital mechanism operates through dress codes, a very strict schedule and a detached approach viewing the patient as an object. While the hospital staff are expected to be 'All-knowers' and 'fix' the patient, the object-patients are usually passive in their own treatment, waiting for answers and solutions.

Experiencing long duration of hospitalization creates hours and days of 'dead-time', enabling patients to contemplate and observe of the system they are forced to be a part of.

The theatrical- hospital playground installation emphasizes the option of observing and being observed at the same time.

Styrofoam, plaster, metal, wax, fabric, tape, wood, bitumen layers