Video excerpt.
No Fun (2010) is a video where the Mattes simulated a suicide and filmed the reactions of those watching. It was staged on a popular website that connects random people from all over the world for webcam-based conversations. Franco was hanging from a noose, swinging slowly for hours, in their studio in New York. Thousands of people watched the scene without knowing if it was real or fictitious. The spectators unknowingly became the subject of the work.
Our feed also contained a laptop visible in the corner of the screen, which broadcasted a real-time image of the people connected, providing both an immediate mirror for viewers to see themselves in, and proof that the video was not pre-recorded.
The work is usually displayed on a laptop, placed on an inflatable mattress, which provides seating for viewers, giving them a more intimate view.
Installed at Fotomuseum Winterthur, Switzerland.
Installed at Carroll/Fletcher, London.
Screening view, Spectacle Cinema, New York.
