The Ratspectacla

The Ratspectacla – Fiction/Installation – 8 minutes – 2008

I have increasingly become interested in the type of ‘spectacle’ that utilizes fear and elements of the unknown to attract an audience. Whether it be the horror genre, the freak-show, or just the promise of abnormalities, I am curious to explore human nature’s fascination of the morbid and common unknowns. I am also curious to explore how much of the ‘spectacle’ is experienced in anticipation of the actual event and how the viewer’s, and society’s, generalized conceptions of the morbid and unknown works to create a common visceral reaction to the content before the event even unfolds. The viewer then anticipates the event’s climax so that their elongated anticipation of the unknown results in an almost ‘play-terror’ or in just relieved disappointment.