LIFE EXCHANGE was a one-week performance that toook place in New York City during PERFORMA 07 (Oct. 31-Nov 6. 2007).
Based in the private Chelsea apartment of author Nancy Weber - the first recorded New York citizen to have conducted a Life Exchange - the project invited applicants to perform actual Life Exchanges and thereby exchange lives with other individuals for a time.
In total, 10 individuals performed a Life Exchange during the week.
Each participant entered the apartment by ringing the bell and was subsequently guided through an interview session with two members of Wooloo Productions living with Ms. Weber for the period. Following this initial interview, each of the participants was given a Life Exchange appointment and a detailed Life Exchange Questionnaire to fill out.
Once the participant returned to the apartment for their actual Life Exchange, the participant was brought to a special room, re-dressed in a Life Exchange scrub and softly blindfolded. The same was done to the other participant undergoing the exchange and arriving hereafter. Wooloo Productions then performed a ritual with the two participants. After the ritual, each participant was dressed in the other person’s clothes and was then escorted out of the apartment with this person’s keys, phone, wallet - as well as Life Exchange Questionnaire with their new personal details and habits.
It was then up to the individual participants to continue their Life Exchange however long they wanted to. And to documented - or not - in any way they wanted to.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
As a social performance work, LIFE EXCHANGE challenges the widespread notion of human distrust that is a reality in post-9-11 New York. Through its rituals and historical references, the exhibition aims to create its own micro-power structure. A structure that ultimately questions the - just as performative - production of fear and mistrust that has become the normal state of the surrounding society.
The LIFE EXCHANGE exhibition is part of Wooloo Productions on-going work examining the construction of social reality. Where previous works have dealt directly with the mediated construction of immigration regimes and the movement of bodies over national borders - the focus of this performance is not on change of place, but rather on change of being.
As it has been the case with previous Wooloo projects, LIFE EXCHANGE creates an experimental situation and attempts to engage viewers in direct participation – ultimately offering the possibility for an alternative mode of existence.
Wooloo projects have been reviewed internationally and applied in such places as: Artists Space, New York City; 25th VIBER Festival for Film, Video and New Media, Basel Kunsthalle; White Box, New York City; and Nikolaj Contemporary Art Center, Copenhagen.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Doug Fogelson – Photo
Florian Ludwig – Design
Nancy Weber - The Life Swap, 1974
The project is sponsored by the Danish Arts Council Committee for Visual Arts.
APPLICATION INFORMATION
1.) The application deadline for the LIFE EXCHANGE project is midnight October 21st, 2007. (Pacific Standard Time.) EXTENDED!!
2.) Applicants must live in or around New York City. This includes living in a hotel.
3.) There is NO fee for the application, but the applicant must be willing to perform a full Life Exchange for at least 24 hours. This includes handing over your home keys for this period, as well as borrowing one set of personal clothing to the project. In return, you will receive another person’s keys and clothes.
4.) Applicants invited to perform the Life Exchange service with Wooloo Productions will be contacted no later than October 26th, 2007 at the email address and/or phone number listed in their application.
5.) LIFE EXCHANGE is presented by invitation of the legendary Franklin Furnace Archive, Inc. during PERFORMA 07 in New York City from October 31st to November 6th 2007. The location of the exhibition is 449 West 24th Street, Apartment #1, New York, NY 10011.
6.) An entry confirmation will be sent out via email, as soon as an application has been received online.
7.) All applications must be made in English through your wooloo account. Do not send physical material to us, as this cannot be returned.
8.) By submitting an application, you agree that this application and all its accompanying material can be displayed to project curators, as well as any other individuals or groups that Wooloo Productions deem appropriate. Should you be selected for participation, you also agree
to A) provide your own life details honestly and correctly, B) use the life details of the other person responsibly and only for the purpose of this performance, C) at all times abide by all applicable criminal and civil laws, and D) not engage in behavior that is immoral or injures the reputation of Wooloo Productions and/or the person in question. Wooloo Productions shall not be liable for damages or harmful behavior of any kind relating in whole or in part to the LIFE EXCHANGE project.
9.) Employees, sponsors and patrons of Wooloo Productions are ineligible to apply.
10.) Wooloo Productions reserves the right to modify the project information and/or rules at any time. Any modifications go into effect the day they are posted and apply to all individuals registered for the project.
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LIFE EXCHANGE
PARTICIPATORY PROJECTS
Collaborating with curators and partner
organizations, Wooloo develops
participatory projects to foster new
opportunities for emerging artists.
Our participatory projects have been
presented at recognized art institutions
and reviewed internationally.
Wooloo Productions in collaboration with Martha Wilson
Martha Wilson is a performance artist and founder of the legendary Franklin Furnace Archive in Brooklyn, New York. For more than 30 years, Wilson has been involved in exploring the critical role of live performance in society.
Martha Wilson and Franklin Furnace has invited Wooloo Productions to present LIFE EXCHANGE during PERFORMA 07.
PARTNERS
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The project is sponsored by the Danish Arts Council Committee for Visual Arts.
