Statement
Statement
My practice investigates structures that regulate human behavior. These include those that are self-made and those that are inflicted by external forces. I am interested in how these systems inform our perception of time, and shape lived experience. I am interested in how we as indiviuals frame what constitutes a lived life. How do we choose what activities (labor/leisure) we repeat, and what we isolate as a moment in time? How does repetition and variation shape our identity and autonomy?
My work builds and takes from systems that are human made, those in which error and subjectivity are immersed into the layers of logic. I draw inspiration from maps, floorplans, task lists, diary entries, weather predictions, and other miscellaneous repetitive behavioral regulators. These sources act as scores for live and recorded compositions where figures move through environments, which are often re-imagined through electronic space. With video at the center of my practice, my work takes the form of single channel videos, installations, drawings, and performances. These ideas inform not only my approach to art, but to how I exist living in a high-density city where space and time are the ultimate commodity. My work offers temporary respite from the systems of regulation I subscribe to and engage with in everyday life.
— Blithe Riley, 2010
