I need to be closer to you (DST IV), 2018
Two-channel video, Daylight Saving Time performance (autumn)
Length: 60 min.
First projection: Time in Variance, 17th Triennial Conference of the International Society for the Study of Time, Los Angeles, California.
06.23.2019 - 06.29.2019
Exhibition Essay by Lee Henderson
Artist Book by Anchorless Press
Approaching with the foundational belief that time is felt, I Need To Be Closer to You (DST IV) explores the shifting temporal variance experienced between two individuals residing time zones apart. With an exemplary focus on the deviating time regimes between the Daylight Saving Time (DST) standardized Canadian provinces and the anomaly province of Saskatchewan, which observes Central Standard Time year-round, the performance-for-video proposes how this perceived disruption in time can be collaboratively mended through performative gestures.
Through the lens of Romantic Conceptualism, I Need To Be Closer to You (DST IV) exhibits how shifting temporal frameworks can put felt strain on long-distance relationships. The fluctuating temporal orientation of two lovers comes to the forefront and centres on the physical moment when spring Daylight Saving Time regulations go into effect, and clocks turn ahead to lose an hour. In relation to the steady ticking of unphased Saskatchewan, a felt temporal distance dilates between the two individuals from a one-hour to a two-hour difference. This kink in cadence produces an oscillating yet consistent format of time variation every year: for six months of the year during DST, the individuals are two hours apart, and for the remaining six months, they are only one hour apart. The final work conceptually remedies a creative loophole by simulating closeness to reclaim the lost time by documenting, dissecting, manipulating, and finally reconstructing the performed-for-video footage.