When I was twelve, my father was diagnosed with ALS and I watched him deteriorate from a strong, prideful man to someone who couldn't eat, speak, or even breathe without assistance. It was not until he saw his own reflection, he realized how much of his original self was gone. ALS is short for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and is a disease that slows down muscle neurons while the brain still functions entirely. My father lived for two short years after being diagnosed.
Entropy is an interactive installation incorporating video and sound components contained within a plinth utilizing mirrors as well as an interior monitor and speakers. Self-contained, the exterior resembles an unused white pedestal, signifying presence yet simultaneous insignificance. The interior, through the use of mirrors, video, and sound, creates overwhelming feelings of internal reflection but continuous displacement from oneself while synchronously being isolated from the the outside world.
Measuring 54" x 22" x 15 ½”, viewers were asked to place their face into an opening. Immediately inside the box lies a respirator-like object, that viewers rest their face on in order to peer into the pedestal. The interior of the piece, at the bottom, holds a monitor playing a video piece with two intersecting mirrors along the 15 ½” sides and the remaining sides have flat mirrors spanning the rest of the interior. The mirrors concurrently reflect the video as well as themselves, creating an infinity mirror space. The inside structure of the box is not visible, for it is entirely covered by mirrors. In tandem with the video, a sound piece is overwhelmingly audible when resting one’s face within the piece.
Entropy shares my father’s experience of absorbing everything yet being unable to reflect anything. I intended to recreate the overwhelming difficulty, agonizing sounds, claustrophobia, and gasp for breath that my father was forced to live. Through this piece, I want to give my father back the first thing he lost: his voice.