Dummy Installation, 2013

Influenced by the Bobo Doll Experiment, a series of experiments conducted by psychologist Albert Bandura to study how children learn aggression through observation, Dummy is an interactive installation for participants to act out on their emotions. The soft sculpture is made of stuffed canvas, felt, socks and a baseball cap and is attached to ropes and pulleys to allow it to be raised, lowered and flung against the walls and floor. It also has an orifice in its belly area that can be probed and pulled out. The Bobo experiment focused on learned aggressive behavior in children, whereas Dummy lets participants enact their current attitudes and feelings on the doll. Some participants do get aggressive and slam it around, but it also creates an empathetic response in some to care for it, some even running to its aid as someone else is being hurtful.