H E L I D O N G J E R G J I
PHYSIO TV
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Realized in 2002 and 2004 (different formats)
Painted 5” TV-sets and beer bottles, live television
Dimensions variable
Thirty 5” TV-sets are lined up on a perfectly horizontal wall shelf at the height of an adult’s eye-level. The TV-sets are all tuned into random channels and each of the TVs has their volume at a minimum level. The sound coming from the different TV-s creates a wall of sound, making it difficult to focus on the content of any one channel in particular. Before the TV screens there is a row of different brand name beers that correspond to an array of colored glass bottles. The labels of the bottles have been removed, so the viewer can view the TV images refracted by the convex colored liquid of the beers as well as the glass of the bottles themselves. The shelf with the TV-sets and beer bottles eventually ends near the door of a restroom. Beyond the door, the installation reappears with its final touch in the restroom itself. A single 5” TV-set is tuned into a random channel and hangs from the ceiling with the screen facing the water of the toilet. The TV-set is positioned about 6” above the head of a seated adult patron of the bathroom. The images emitted from the TV are flawlessly reflected on the toilet water. Although the only light in the restroom is the one coming out of the TV screen, the bathroom is functional and the viewer is encouraged to lock the door and physiologically interact with the reflection of the TV images on the toilet water. The viewer is reminded not to forget to flush away the reflected program of the moment along with all the additions pertinent to the occasion.
When art starts to rely on physiology it is normally time to check on the artist’s credentials, but when TV becomes an integral part of the physiological process, it is obviously time to take out a wonderful frozen TV Dinner, and indulge yourself.