Table for one

‘Table For One’ uses a cross section of singles advertisements in order to draw on our desire for love, craving for companionship, and yearning for connection.

It uses a plain and unremarkable single café table as a vessel to contain and transmit descriptions of the self, of the desired other, of likes, and of passing encounters. 

The work frames a very human search for a partner, and invites the viewer to discover this pursuit held within the table itself.

‘Table For One’ consisted of an old café table that had been modified to embed four coils at different points just under the surface. These were connected to digital audio players and amplifiers. Paper cups were left on the table, each of which had a small magnet glued onto the bottom. When placed over the coils, the magnets would vibrate turning the cup into a speaker. By moving the cups across the table, the participants could search for the different pieces of audio embedded in the table and listen to them.

Volunteers were recorded reading excerpts from singles advertisements focusing on the words used by the writers to describe themselves and the person they hoped to meet.

The pursuit of happiness, May 7, 2010 – June 6, 2010
Galeria Miejska Arsenał, Stary Rynek 6, Poznań, 61-772, Poland.