2024. Laura, Can We Stop Talking About My Deepest Fears Now? Laura Chalabi Photo (c) Lea Fabienne

Laura, Can We Stop Talking About My Deepest Fears Now?

Fear of darkness is one of the most intrinsic fears of human beings. Sometimes entirely justified, yet sometimes leaning into improbable or absurd fantasies, fear of the dark lies on the fine line between the rational and the irrational. In the night time, many children are comforted by night lights, which stay on even when nobody needs them for seeing. To them, and many adults too, light itself feels like a shield protecting them from evil. Rationally, this feeling of safety is not justified at all, yet emotionally, it is perfectly understandable. The installation Laura, Can We Stop Talking About My Deepest Fears Now? examines the interplay between the two opposites, rational and emotional, through night lights and toy telephones which play audio recordings of multiple adults describing their own fear of the dark. They are subjective experiences, all different from each other, yet connected by the same entirely human experience.

Laura participated in the exhibition as Guest Student 2023/24.

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