There is Someone, 2001

Courtesy the artist
Collection

Vinyl decals transferred to the wall
20.3 x 76.2 cm


Janet Cardiff’s works contribute to a shift in the communicational structure of art from a one-sided confrontation between artwork and audience to an exploration of the conversational dimension-the quiet, private realm of talking-listening. As such, There is Someone doesn’t so much talk to viewers as attempt to occupy their minds, using the surrounding as a stage set and backdrop for her work, and retaining surprising control in a changing unpredictable exhibition setting.

"The Walk Book" comes in a black box which contains: "The Walk Book", "View from window", Grindrod, BC (2005) signed photograph by JANET CARDIFF for the limited edition Portable CD Player "The Walk Book" audio CD.
The Walk Book works like a garden, inviting you to follow its paths, which branch off in different directions. Like a labyrinth, the book has more than one entrance. You may enter it to read the texts, to look at the pictures, or to hear the artist’s voice on a CD included in the book as it leads you through the texts and images. It’s about the disappearance of places and memory loss, but also about offering something unique to whoever picks up the book, something that participants take along with them in time. The Walk Book collects and preserves some of the words and dialogues that are part of Cardiff’s walks, transposing them into a literary form and yet dissolving all possible determinations and codifications.


*1957 in Ontario, Canada I Living and working in Berlin, Germany