IS A MULTI-CHAPTER TALE OF COURAGE AND KINDNESS IN THE FACE OF THE UNKNOWN--THE UNKNOWN BEING BOTH THE ACTUAL LANDSCAPE/PLACE AND THE SOCIAL LANDSCAPE CREATED BY THE PEOPLE I WOULD RANDOMLY FIND IN THE BACK SEAT OF MY CAR. ADDRESS THE RIDE-SHARING ECONOMY AS A SYSTEM THAT, ON THE ONE HAND, CONTRIBUTES TO THE PRECARIZATION OF LABOR AT A GLOBAL SCALE BUT, ON THE OTHER, FACILITATES SPECIFIC FORMS OF FLEETING AND POTENTIALLY MEANINGFUL INTIMACY BETWEEN STRANGERS THAT OPEN THE POSSIBILITY OF HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS BEYOND THE TRANSACTION.
THIS MULTIMEDIA INSTALLATION IS BASED ON MY YEAR-LONG WORK AS A RIDE-SHARE DRIVER IN HOUSTON. IT FEATURES PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAITS, VIDEOS OF THE CITY, AND AUDIO CLIPS OF CONVERSATIONS OVERHEARD WHILE DRIVING. THE INSTALLATION ALSO INCLUDES INVOICES AND OTHER DATA RELATED TO THE ECONOMIC DIMENSION OF THESE BRIEF INTERACTIONS. BY LOOKING INTO SPORADIC ECONOMIES RANGING FROM
THE MAPS SUCH AS URBAN DETOURS, THE EMPATHIC ENCOUNTER REGISTERED IN THE IMAGES, THE CRITICAL LOOK AT THE SPORADIC ECONOMIES, AND YET THE HORIZON OF THE RE-SIGNIFYING PRECARIOUS LABOR AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CREATIVE FLANEURISM, SOMEONE IN MY CAR INVITES VIEWERS TO CONSIDER DIFFERENT ASPECTS FROM THE DUAL PERSPECTIVES OF PASSENGER AND DRIVER.
A YEAR AFTER MOVING TO NEW YORK CITY FROM CARACAS, I BEGAN RENTING MY BEDROOM IN BROOKLYN THROUGH A SHARING PLATFORM, OUT OF ECONOMIC NECESSITY.
TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN ANONYMITY AND INTIMACY FORCED UPON ME BY THIS SITUATION, I BEGAN TAKING PORTRAITS OF MY GUESTS. I ALSO MADE VIDEOS AND INTERVIEWS AND CREATED MAPS CHARTING THE ORIGIN OF EACH VISITOR AND DETAILS ABOUT THE ECONOMIC TRANSACTION BINDING US THROUGH MY BED.
BY DELVING INTO THE EXPERIENCE OF SHARING PRIVATE SPACES WITH COMPLETE STRANGERS, THIS PROJECT EXPLORES SOME OF THE DYNAMICS OF THE GLOBALIZED SHARING ECONOMY.
1989 BEDFORD AVE, 2017