13:16 minute Two-channel video installation written and produced by Yifan Jiang.
During my past year of living in the desert, prolonged isolation got me to ask one question: “Who is the one listening when I am speaking to myself?” Who is the “I” that listens to the words spoken by the inner voice? Who owns the inner eye that delights in the pink elephants of daydreams? Do they share a name with the dreamer, or are they just strangers living in the same skull? Neighbors is a two-channel video installation that grapples with one’s relationship with oneself. Played simultaneously, the animated videos show two characters living in apartments across each other. Crouching in the darkness, they watch and judge each other’s every move. Using the installation as a metaphor, Neighbors delve into the paradoxical structure of one’s inner world. Of course, answering big metaphysical questions is beyond me, but my best effort is an honest report.
(Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston, Texas)