Madeline Sheperd, 23
Curiosity
Info:
Is it possible to counter exclusion and hatred? As a preventive measure ? So that you don‘t get sucked into the negative spiral of hate of others? These are the questions that drive Madeline Shepherd. She sees a solution in daring to be curious like a child again. In her video, she invites people to give it a try and get involved. During the process of creating her work, the artist from Ann Arbor set out on the path of this curiosity herself: she interviewed people from Germany and the U.S. for unknown details of their biographies. To give visual space to the different aspects of curiosity, Madeline Shepherd designed a handmade booklet that becomes the center of her video: In it, the viewer of the booklet, together with the viewers of the video, embarks on a journey through often implied or hidden texts and drawings. If one wants to recognize the full extent of the work, one must look behind the facade, be curious and inquisitive. Over these images Maddie layers the audio testimonies of her interviewees. Partly synchronously, too. The change from individual, well audible voices to several superimposed voices is disturbing. The stories of the individuals are interesting. One wants to hear them to the end. The desire of the audience to learn more is awakened. The multi-layered art project „Curiosity“ is a positive counterpoint to exclusion, closed-mindedness and hatred in our society. It promotes an attitude that leads to a better understanding of people and situations. Where understanding grows, relationships grow. In constructive relationships, exclusion and hatred no longer find room.
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About the artist
Madeline Sheperd
23 Years
The artist about democracy and peace
Hello, my name is Maddie. I would like to address the topic of curiosity in my work. When I think about our current world, I feel deeply saddened and fearful of how much hate exists. I propose curiosity as part of a remedy to this. To me being curious is about being uncertain. This is why we ask. It is about feeling small and recognizing gaps in one‘s own knowledge and ways of thinking. It is to admit to not knowing. I feel as though curiosity is slowly fading away from most of our experiences, as the internet exists to make everything „Google-able“ and our conversations around difficult topics often fall short and turn to rash words. I believe if we all embrace our curiosities and moments of uncertainty, we might come to understand each other and the world around us with more depth, integrity, and genuine compassion. I would like my project to help others recognize their own curiosities and inspire them to lean into them rather than fear them.
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