Parallel Rhetoric: 2001 + 2005 seamlessly combines George Bush’s 2001 and 2005 Inauguration addresses into one composite speech.
A briefcase on the floor conceals a laptop running the installation software. It plays audio recordings of the Inaugurations through a microphone, which has been modified to act as a speaker instead.
Only one speech is heard at a time. The software switches back and forth between the speeches whenever it finds a mutual moment of silence. The gaps between words are transformed into gaps between years. The empty shell of the speech “event” endures but the intentions of the speaker dissolve.
The speeches loop continuously, and their different lengths lead to endless combinations since the silences rarely correspond the same way twice.
Exhibition History
- 2005 “Displacement” exhibition at WORK gallery in Ann Arbor, MI
