Boring People
In this time of lockdown, many of us are forging a new relationship with boredom. Dawn Parsonage's Boring People challenges viewers to come face-to-face with this familiar emotion by watching 22 video portraits of people descending into boredom in real time.
Mesmerising and telling, this exploration of boredom “brilliantly highlights the private struggles we all face when bored - the struggle to find meaning, to find ways to occupy our restless minds - and shares these intimate and often funny moments with the rest of us. The result is charming, deeply human - and definitely not boring.” Dr Erin C Westgate, Social Psychologist, Ohio State University.
“A recreation of Dr Erin C Westgate and Dr Timothy D Wilson’s electrification experiment where subjects stay in a quiet room, where they could shock themselves to relieve their boredom. The experiment explores the lengths to which people will go to get relief from boredom."
The Boring Experiment – Pain Vs. Boredom
"The sitter sits next to a clock, being told they will be in the room for a set time. But the clock is in fact running at half speed. My aim was to capture a distillation of boredom without distractions, presenting it in its purest form. “
The Boring Experiment – Time
"The sitter is made to listen to a boring speech on legislation on a short loop. All words which have tangible substance are replaced with more generic words about legislation. The subject feels like the speech should make sense but it never does."
The Boring Experiment – An Endless Loop
"My aim was to capture a distillation of boredom without distractions, presenting it in its purest form.
I wanted to remove the subjects’ usual barriers, to capture their default bored state. But there’s a vulnerability to becoming bored. Could I take a portrait with the subject fully aware their photograph was being taken?”
“I constructed a clean controlled environment in a studio. The images exploit the stark contrast between the blank background and the honesty of sitters’ expressions.
In the year leading up to the exhibition, I worked with psychologists to devise experiments based on audio, pain and time perception, in order to create boring conditions. The element of distraction broke the relationship between subject and camera, lulling them into a bored state.”
“During the sessions I watched as 22 of my subjects defied, resisted, and ultimately resigned to inevitable boredom. I was glued to every movement and every expression. Each person’s journey into boredom was unique, and over the 15 hours I watched them, every micro expression became tantalising.
I felt voyeuristic, as though I was trespassing on a personal moment which you would not usually have the licence to watch in such detail.”
“The resulting images are humorous and intimate and reflect the many phases of boredom.”
Originally shown at her first solo show - Boring Exhibition at the Bermondsey Project Space London.
