Who, Like Me, is Threatened?
Interactive mirrors forge an emotional connection between museum visitors and people from around the globe whose rights have been threatened.
Human rights issues and abuses affect us all regardless of who we are, where we come from, or what we believe in. This multi-display interactive invites visitors to contemplate what unites us while exploring how intolerance can impact lives.
As users approach the installation, depth-sensing cameras respond to their presence to activate the experience. Gazing into an interactive mirror, viewers see strangers looking back at them, each labeled with a single identifier: “I am ________.” Visitors can select the identifiers that best describe them and watch short video pieces that detail how a particular individual’s rights have been compromised. They get to know a Saudi Arabian woman battling sexual harassment and discrimination. They encounter a labor leader from Liberia who was once sentenced to death for his efforts promoting workers’ rights. They hear about the obstacles faced by a lesbian from Nicaragua.
Seeing themselves literally and figuratively reflected in others closes the distance between the visitor and those fighting for their human rights. The resulting experience is unique and emotionally resonant, an unexpected way of exposing the differences that can tear us apart and the commonalities that connect us all.