You think therefore I am (following you) is on anonymity in a public place and the flow of inner thoughts in the closeness of a crowd. The participant walks on a video-projected image. The image presents pedestrians, filmed beforehand from underneath through a transparent floor. When the participant comes into contact with the image of filmed pedestrians, he hears their inner thoughts.

Filmed pedestrians also perhaps passed there, they belong, like the participants, to the memory of the place. The image is like a mirror. The spectator is surprised by these fragmented inner thoughts and smiles to himself. Is he revealed despite himself?

We don’t speak as we think and don’t think as we speak. Inner thoughts are unrestrained. They jump from one subject to another. They are often linked to banality and daily organisation, but can also be far from this. The inner thoughts are about human communication, anonymity in public space.

How does one pedestrian see another one? How is the city seen by the citizens? So many questions that the inner thoughts try to answer.

There are 130 filmed pedestrians, to which as many thoughts and varying voices correspond. The proportion of various languages can be adapted to the country of presentation. Like most public places, there are many different kinds of filmed pedestrians : men, women, children, old people. Some people are walking fast, some slow, some are waiting.

The projected image is slowed down three times so that the participants can follow the filmed pedestrians and get a chance to hear a longer thought.

Productors/Partnership
Invited writer: Christine Beigel
Le Fresnoy, Studio national des arts contemporains, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication— Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles du Nord-Pas de Calais, Région Île de France, FLIR Systems company, Doublet company, Centre National Chorégraphique de La Rochelle, Théâtre du Nord de Lille, Ryerson University, SURCOUR association and ART-here association.

Siegfried Canto (FR) studied the flute, alto and piano at the Paris Conservatory. He is involved in new technology, he follows IRCAM and GRM activities. His compositions have been played at the Avignon Festival, Café de la Danse and Divan du Monde. He collaborated with the choreographer Boris Jacta for the opening of the All Africa Games.

Magali Desbazeille (FR)Her work is at the intersection of video installation, contemporary dance, circus performances. She collaborated with the American Brussels based choreographer Meg Stuart on her show Highway 101 on a multimedia device, presented at Pompidou Center in Paris. Her work has been presented internationally. She is in residence at C3 in Budapest in 2001.