Pep Talk consists of four columns, each crowned by a hemispherical dome into which various video scenarios are projected, displaying groups of people cheering and hollering. The projection technique—where a fish-eye lens is used to project a spherical image from the columns below—turns the moving images inside out. It enables visitors to study each unit as if from a central position within the group.

There are four categories of people in the videos: workers, a rescue team, a choir, and a team of surgeons. Each troop manifests their collective belonging by shouting group-specific palaver or chants. Social bonding here appears as if distilled in a test tube, and the ritual aspect of our interpersonal relations is revealed in its full, ambiguous scope. Belonging to a tight-knit group can, of course, be a source of strength and comfort, but on the flip side, there is always the peril of losing one’s individuality or creating an environment hostile to others.

"Pep Talk," 1999
Four-channel video installation; acrylic back-projection hemispheres, video projectors, DVD players, wooden plinths, 135 x 40 x 40 cm