Departure Room
Sign, Shelves, Shoes, Glass jars, Tinted water, Photo transparencies, Video camera, Monitor, Motion detector, Chair and Lights; 15’W x 20’L x 10’H
Temporary installation, site-specific work on a pier at an old army fort
Departure Room was conceived as an immersive environment that blurred the line between art and lived experience. Installed on a pier at an old army fort, the space appeared almost ordinary—its entrance marked only by a simple sign reading “Departure Room.” Inside, every wall and window was lined with shelves. Along the walls stood rows of secondhand shoes, quiet traces of anonymous journeys. The window shelves held glass jars filled with blue-tinted water, each containing a photographic transparency of a found portrait, suspended like memories caught between presence and absence.
At the center, an interactive video system invited viewers to become part of the work. When a visitor passed in front of the setup, a motion sensor activated a camera and monitor, recording one minute of sound and movement. The viewer’s live image briefly replaced the archival portraits—suggesting a cycle of departure and return, loss and remembrance.