Video：
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GFuiqGlIN2XqryKAtFcByspySooNLR6X/view?usp=sharing
Draft
Stand or sit with someone nearby.
Remain silent for one minute, breathing deeply.
When the countdown ends, both of you must make an expression and an action or gesture to end the silence.
Then, say the first sentence that comes to mind after making the expression and gesture.
Final version
Stand or sit with someone nearby.
Remain silent for 10 seconds, breathing deeply. If you don’t have a phone, count to 10 in your head.
At the end of the countdown, choose one of three reactions: laughing, crying, or smiling, and perform the corresponding gesture.
After observing the other person’s reaction, ask each other a question.
Participants then need to answer each other’s questions
Repeat the above steps three times
Then I will ask a question “Do you think this score helps you understand yourself better or the other person better?”
Summary
This participatory artwork invites two people to connect through silence, emotion, and curiosity. The reason I chose to improve this Score is that after the last playtest, I found that the waiting time was too long, and most people did not know how to express an emotion or action. So I chose to shorten the time, limit the choice of emotion expression, and let the other party ask a question after expressing the emotion, so that it is easier for both parties to care about each other and quickly build a relationship.
Artist Statement
This work is inspired by instruction-based art, particularly Yoko Ono’s “Grapefruit” and George Brecht’s “Water Yam.” Their works are centered around a simple set of instructions, yet are transformed into meaningful artistic experiences through audience participation. Through a similar approach, I hope to transform everyday social interactions into an artistic experience that inspires reflection for both audience and participants. It can also serve as a game that helps strangers quickly build connections.
The idea for this work stems from my observation of silence in interpersonal relationships—it can be both unsettling and comforting. By asking participants to interact with three emotional responses and questions after a brief silence, I explore how emotion and curiosity naturally flow through nonverbal communication. The three emotional responses (laughing, crying, and smiling) represent joy, sadness, and calmness. After demonstrating these emotions, they develop curiosity through their responses, a feeling of wanting to understand the other person.
At the end, I ask, “Do you think this score helps you understand yourself better or the other person better?” This encourages reflection and helps both parties quickly build connections.