Talk 2 Strangers, 2012

TIMEANDDESIRE
Denise St. Marie - Toronto, Canada
Timothy Walker - Toronto, Canada

Social Experimental Installation

The villager has been replaced by the urbanite, calling upon people to adjust their notions and perceptions within new social arenas. Talk 2 Strangers asks participants to cultivate their sense of self, independent of previous viewpoints, exploring and expanding their personal identity and perspectives while coming together communally. This project aims to assist the participants on a psychological level, guiding and facilitating people towards spontaneous conversations with strangers, while easing awkward, forced and tentative experiences.  

This project is an experiential collaboration for the public. The work integrates large-scale signage of how to steps, pamphlets, event staging, and volunteers to encourage and guide interactions, building on social nuances, dispersing anxiety and creating a forum for casual to philosophical conversations.  

Shifting cultural climates have created new urban walls, both physical and conceptual, impeding meaningful community exchange. iPods, iPhones and Blackberrys have aided social networking, but eliminated the desire for random face-to-face interaction. This project aims to inspire a collective paradigm shift, trading-up the calculated passage of a person within a city for a more open and engaged social citizen.

TIMEANDDESIRE examines the concept of shared spaces and the role perception plays in constructing our realities. It challenges assumptions about our environment, interactions, observations and activities. Recently highlighted by the Toronto Urban Film Festival 2011, Prefix Photo Journal and Art of the Danforth 2012.

41

Yonge Dundas Square
Yonge Street & Dundas Street

This project is outdoors.