Have You Ever Been Mistaken For A…?HAVE YOU EVERBEEN MISTAKENFOR A…?

The deepening divide between native-born French society and its unassimilated immigrant populations erupted into civil unrest in the suburbs of Paris in 2005. Located on the Rue du Sec-Arembault, a busy pedestrian street in Lille, the installation Have You Ever Been Mistaken for a … ? addresses growing xenophobia in France and across Europe.

Ten backlit advertising screens are evenly distributed along the street. Each features life-size images of fictional inhabitants, seemingly selected at random. The photographs were shot in situ, producing an uncanny sense of realism. As viewers approach the screens, the images briefly align with their physical contexts: virtual transparency momentarily coincides with actual spatial depth. Each lenticular screen holds two seconds of video that is activated by the moving viewer. Passersby encounter the screens sequentially. Each character performs a different ambiguous gesture that, in a climate of fear, could be construed as suspicious. The series of micromovies produces a sense of apprehension and ultimately encourages reflection about one’s propensity for ethnic profiling and misreading visual information.

Have You Ever Been Mistaken for a … ? was created in collaboration with film director Mira Nair and commissioned for the lille3000 festival.