Project for Physic Garden

Chelsea Physic Gardens, London, England
Sep. 18 - Oct. 18, 2010

Tony Oursler's AWGTHTGTWTA (Are We Going to Have to Go Through with This Again?), 2008, was developed in collaboration with students from Liberty High School and Clinton Middle School in New York. AWGTHTGTWTA links the public space of the Fulton Houses playground with childrens ideal fantasy worlds. Working with teens from Liberty High School and Clinton Middle School, the artist produced a collaborative video of students performing readings that describe their thoughts of the future. The original audience actively participated with the installation by sending text messages that became part of the projected footage. The installation explored the link between compulsive online gaming, improvisational singing on YouTube and chanting of a youth chorus. The final work, a video projection onto a translucent screen, was originally shown outdoors in autumn 2008 at Chelsea Physic Gardens in London, Nuits Blanches in Paris, and Fulton Houses Playground in New York as part of The Chelsea Project.