Eye Tracking Attire
This project is about the fine line that we do not cross in communications: between the verbal and acknowledged, and the unspoken, subtle, subconscious or intentional gestures of our eyes and bodies. There is a deeply embedded conventional divide between spoken and body languages:: a social contract that creates hilarious, awkward, and sometimes difficult situations. What if I were to directly address the action that is not to be acknowledged with words? What if I did it with images that amplify what is happening in the realm of eye communication. <br /><br /><br />
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This project is in response to reading about subconscious communication and to my subway commute. The subway space fosters many awkward and interesting opportunities for non verbal communication. Eye contact, or refusal to make it, is often used as a way of denying accountability for otherwise inappropriate actions, or as a way of keeping others in check. Because it is subtle this form of communication is plausibly deniable. This device is meant to help me explore the feelings associated with this form of communication, as well as help me explore its potential as an overt form of communication.<br /><br /><br />
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Some of the questions I am asking: Would amplifying it visually, in a way that being aware of it becomes undeniable, make it less passive? How would I deal with the power of non passive body language? What if I were subjected to the same level of scrutiny in regards to my bodily statements as I propose to subject others? As a way of investigating this, I will project what I am looking at to try to use my eyes in a less passive way. While I remain in control of my body language, parts of it will be undeniably displayed and projected. Is making them viewable making them more assertive? Is making them replicated giving them more significance? Is making them recorded or objectified the key to bridging that gap between the unspoken and passive and the spoken,active, and intentional. Will I be able to use this language in the same way once I am held accountable for what I may imply?
