Third International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

“Necesitando al Otro” is a multi-channel, interactive video installation exploring the Mexican migration. It detects the relative audience presence and, detecting a complete absence, enters the inactive state. In this state the video channels enter a phase of data corruption, analogous to the increasing denial of migrant struggles in our society. When the installation detects a partial presence (e.g. one or two people relatively nearby), it enters the partial state. In this state, the corruption of the video channels becomes increasingly more subtle, and the viewing less challenging. As the audience increases in number, the installation enters the active state, wherein video corruption becomes unnoticeable. This interplay of obscurity and visibility is designed to interrogate the Western Hemisphere’s indifference to the struggles of the Mexican migrant, and that an active interest in – and attention to – these struggles can provide a clearer understanding of our shared humanity.