Anesthesia is a passage through our fear of death, dying, pain, and disease. Illness is inevitable. Yet we ostracize members of our society who suffer. To be sick or injured means to be thrust into the most inhuman surroundings imaginable. To seek a cure means to accept isolation.
Science frequently provides a justification for detachment.
Elements of this installation resonate with the complex, deep-seated fear and helplessness encountered during medical intervention. The atmosphere of the installation is sickening. As the audience walks through the space, they trigger concealed motion sensors which activate audio equipment. Synthetic sounds are played through small speakers concealed behind the installation walls. A microphone picks up the speaker output and feeds it back into the speakers input channel.