Nothing Ventured

2000. Call centre, script written by the artist, direct dial telephone connection, telephone, desk, table, chair, cassette recorder and tapes, transcriptions of resulting conversations (ink on paper.) Commissioned by fig-1, London; funded by Film & Video Umbrella, London.

The gallery contained a telephone on a desk. Picking up the receiver, the visitor was connected direct to a telephone call centre which was hired by the artist to ‘represent’ her. From a script written by the artist, the call centre agents answered with the artist’s name and the title of the work, and then offered the caller limited generic information about the artist, such as information on her past work, her CV or reviews of past shows. The conversations were recorded and transcribed and form the documentation of the piece, which has subsequently been exhibited in its own right on a number of occasions. From the documentation it is evident that the temptation for the callers to break out of the generic monotony proved irresistible for both parties.