I am in the back of the shop with the lights off, setting up a video camera so that I can film an hour at lunchtime, hopefully ‘to capture’ passers-by looking in. I try plugging in the power adapter and realise I’ve brought the wrong one. There is a couple sat on the bench in front of the shop and I can see that the woman is explaining to the man what I am doing. She is miming wrapping a plank of wood in hazard tape.
“What am I building?” “A sculpture” “What of?” “Does a sculpture have to be of something? What does it look like?” “A tunnel.” Beautiful. She explains she couldn’t read the magnets on the fridge door from where she was sat. She suggested wrapping the chairs, “and a table”, in hazard tape. I ummed and arghed but explained that even though that might connect the seats with the art, the seats weren’t the art but a facility. She asked about the text and I explained, “Cheap Chairs!” she said. Fantastic.
Another audience member asked if I thought artists with beards had more authority (I’ve had a shave). He said I didn’t have the towel last week then corrected himself to say it was folded differently!
A young girl asked if she could crawl through the tunnel. I said she could but if it fell on her whilst she was doing it then I could be sued. Her friend suggested I charge; we agreed the charge would have to be equivalent to the cost of insurance. She said she would sign a disclaimer, crawling consent.
I’ve hooked up sound. A Tom Waits sample with a sample from The Great Escpe. The headphones look lost on the seat. Philippa organises a plinth I can borrow from The Harris. A skip outside The Harris has two comfortable chairs in it, yes I can have them.
Back in the back of the shop I see someone picks up the headphones and listens. I go for a break and when I come back I know someone else has picked up the headphones because they are now ear down. I think about using speakers so that everyone can hear the sound. Is that more important than the idea, point about public/private space?
Where does copyright begin?
