A series of shorts exploring the impulse to collect, the complexity of obsession, the place where these two
issues intersect, and their relationship to art making. Collection of short documentaries, 2000 – present, 2-6 minutes each, digital video, color, sound.
Project Description
In our consumer-oriented, mobile, and rootless society, we are supposed to believe we are what we own. With few ties to the past, collecting becomes one way of building a history. It helps us define who we are and helps us to fit into our world. Collecting then is about individuality and belonging. What else might collecting be about? What are the impulses that drive collectors? Is it about comfort and security? Is it about power and status? Is it about capture and possession? Is it about creating a sense of identity? Is it about systems and classification? How has the Internet extended the realm of what collecting can be? When does the mania of collecting undo the ordering of an archive? Where do obsession and collecting meet? These questions and thoughts drive this body of work.