Gillian Wearing, Your Views, still from clips sent from Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo by Fabrice Elikya. 
Photo: Courtesy the artist.

Got a room with a view? Congratulations, you are qualified to participate in a global artwork! A window is namely all you need to participate in the new artwork by Turner Prize winning artist Gillian Wearing, titled Your Views. 

The acclaimed British artist often enlists the public to participate in her photographs and video series, most famously in her striking artwork Secrets and Lies (2009). The work shows men and women who answered Wearing’s newspaper ad to confess all on camera, anonymously, while their identity remains concealed by the use of rubber masks cut around the mouth and eyes.

Gillian Wearing, Secrets and Lies, (2009).
Photo: Tanya Bonakdar Gallery.

Wearing also approached people on the street to reveal and share their thoughts in her work Signs that say what you want them to say and not Signs that say what someone else wants you to say from 1992-3, and won the prestigious Turner Prize in 1997 for her work 60 Minutes of Silence.

Now, the artist has launched a global call asking members of the public to film what they see when they look out their windows. With the submitted images, Wearing intends to create a video collage of snippets from around the world, taking the viewer from urban landscapes to remote rural vistas.

“It’s been so amazing seeing the different views people have, from a brick wall to a seascape,” Wearing said about the videos sent to her thus far. “When you read the location before you see the individual view the expectation is always different and that is one of the incredible aspects about the contributions. I would love to see a view from wherever you are!”

Gillian Wearing, Your Views. Clips sent from Hunza, Pakistan by Hussn Bibi.
Photo: Courtesy the artist.

With more that 300 videos submitted from over 60 countries, Wearing has already got a sizable portion of the work in the making. However, the artist is on the lookout for views from harder-to-reach places, and a press release mentions an interest in videos from Syria and North Korea.

The requirements for sending filmed material are simple: the clip must be static, so if you use a smart phone or a camera, make sure their are not hand-held; the format should be horizontal; and length should be between 20-30 seconds.

Participants must also have access to the Internet to upload their views to a website, which might make it more complicated indeed to receive clips from certain areas.

The good news is that every contribution will be credited with the sender’s name, making this potentially the largest collaborative film project ever made. The work is commissioned by HOUSE, and the final results will premiere at HOUSE in May, as part of the Brighton Festival 2016.