ON HOLD

Constraints are generative, disruptive, even liberating; they are catalysts, mirrors, tests and teachers. ON HOLD is a relational work contingent on constraints. 

It is a party I hosted with 3 simples terms and conditions:
1. Verbal communication is prohibited for the duration of the event
2. All communication must occur via the designated Whatsapp groupchat.
3. The event reserves the right to remove any guests who violate these terms and conditions.

A mute bouncer tended the door, handing each prospective guest a card of these terms and conditions, acquiring their signatures as an acknowledgement of the rules and putting wristbands on those who complied. His role extended to ensuring compliance within the event by cutting the wristbands of anyone who spoke and escorting them out.
Once inside, guests were funneled into the digital realm, whilst still decidedly in direct connection and response to their physical surroundings and other party-goers. Strangers and friends alike were thrust into an unfamiliar social terrain: one stripped of spoken cues, forcing them to interact in ways that feel simultaneously distant and hyper-present. This dynamic repositions the familiar act of conversation as an act of negotiation, adaptation, and restraint: one where tone and nuance are denied the immediacy of voice. This absurd dynamic and constructed context invoke panoptic ponderings. 
The party could be likened to a fishbowl, where guests are acutely aware that their behaviour and contributions are under a magnifying glass from a multitude of perspectives: the bouncer, the forum of the group chat, the omniscient eye of the livestream and passing-by onlookers. It is at once a mirroring, exaggeration, critique and exploration of the identity as a fluctual performance.