Historic Pittsburgh Playhouse Studio Lobby (2017)

Pittsburgh, PA

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Lead Artist: Harbour Edney

Program Design/Code: Greg King

Scenic Designer: Tucker Topel

The viewer enters a small bedroom with a desk covered in mundane items; each item is connected to a capacitive touch sensor that allows the viewer to experience multiple projected films on the apparent "mirror". This or That? 

Society has placed a wide range of gender association to certain styles and cuts of clothing. As someone who is non-binary trying to find a method of expressing yourself that breaks free from those associations can be very trying and complicated. Individuals can be left feeling isolated, invalid, unwanted, confused and unable to express themselves. In some cases they experience body dysmorphia, which is an anxiety disorder that causes a person to have a distorted view of how they look and to spend a lot of time worrying about their appearance. Because these individuals cannot change the societal definition of gender they obsesses over trying to fit their gender and appearance into a box. But we as people were never meant to be confined into a box; and society can change to become more inclusive to people who do not identify as cis-female or cis-male. This or That is an interactive projection installation that allows viewers to explore some of the complex emotions non-binary people feel each day when getting ready to leave their house.