https://sometimesiam.org/

Artists: Leannej, Kevin McMillan, and My Name is Scot

Sometimes I am… is an interactive textual exploration of how language shapes our identity, how it can bring us together, and how it can set us on the periphery. Sometimes I am… asks the user to consider what it means to be seen or unseen. 

In Sometimes I am ... text and audio events are triggered when the user moves the mouse or touches a key on the keyboard. Every time an event is triggered, a new series of randomly selected text and audio is presented to the viewer. The more quickly the user triggers the events, the faster the events are delivered, building to a cacophony of text and sound. When the user slows or stops triggering events, the texts and audio slowly fade away. After a certain number of interactions, the texts move from one language to multiple languages, further enriching the experience.

The texts reposition the use as the subject and unspoken object of the discourse. The pronouns move from the personal “I am” to the second-person “You are” to the third-person “They are.” The user moves from being located in the internal to the external: I am/they are/you are.

To expand its resonance, we have translated and recorded multiple language versions and have developed the coding to add any language that will work in translation given the constraints of the piece. Currently Sometimes I am ... includes English, Italian, Japanese, Persian, and Spanish languages. We are currently working with translators on an Urdu and Serbian version.

Author: Leannej is a text based artist. Her work has been published in books, magazines and anthologies, and installed in art galleries, public spaces, and on the web. Her most recent work explores the form of animated and interactive digital narratives.

Developer: Kevin McMillan is a Vancouver-based designer and educator.

Sound artist: My Name Is Scot is a Vancouver-based creator interested in interested in notions of agency, identity and authenticity. His work has been seen in exhibitions, screenings and performances in over 30 countries. Recent texts have appeared in The Short Story Show Podcast and Geist. For more information, please visit: mynameisscot.ca