Tell me a story
Interactive video installation using Isadora software.
Electronics, books displaying images of the seven basic plots, wooden painted table, video projection, 2018
This intimate interactive exhibition references the Seven Basic Plots of storytelling, that are said to be in every novel or film made:
Journey & Return
Quest
Rebirth
Tragedy
Comedy
Slaying the Monster
Rags to Riches
Storytelling is at the foundation of being human. Stories about others, whether fiction or non-fiction, help us to understand ourselves and each other. This is a work where in a sense life imitates art. Ordinary people of diverse age, culture, and gender were asked to tell a true story from their own lives. They did not rehearse their story, just told it once however it came out, over one to two minutes. Each story could then be categorised into one of the Seven Basic Plots. The filmed stories were then linked to seven buttons disguised as books, which featured an image on the front for each plot. The work was projected and the interactivity was facilitated using Isadora software, coding and electronics. It is hoped that through the experience of hearing these stories, the audience might gain deeper empathy and sense of connection to our fellow humans, who like us, can experience the extraordinary in the course of their outwardly ordinary lives.
This story was told by a 12 year old girl who recounts the awakening she experienced when she began High School. Her description of her senses coming alive after languishing for the last few years in Primary School, is a pure Rags to Riches tale.
What next?
The first iteration of this project was done as a part of my Masters at UNSW Art & Design. There are plans to expand this project for a larger audience in the future.