ABSTRACT
The blinking light in the distance is a well-used trope in many media, such as Panic! At the Disco’s song “Always”, where the lover croons “...blink back at me to let me know”; podcast Welcome to Night Vale’s many references to the mysterious blinking lights on the mountains that do not exist; and the Star Wars: A New Hope scene in which C-3PO sights the transport. It’s the forefather of the “light at the end of the tunnel” trope and even has a place in many mythologies, as guiding Will-o-Wisps or Hero’s lantern in the romantic Greek tragedy. With the sighting of the blinking light comes a wide variety of different emotions and reactions in all its iterations, but one thing remains the same: it carries the possibility that someone is somewhere, out there, and you may not be alone after all.
U R Not Alone is an interactive installation centered around the emotion of loneliness and the human reaction to it. Meant to be presented without instruction, it strands an unsuspecting audience in a seemingly empty dark room, intended to induce feelings of helplessness, confusion, and loneliness. However, once the viewer makes a sound—either by calling out, or stepping loudly—they’ll notice a light blink back at them, however briefly. By repeatedly calling out at the light—and having it respond back, if only through blinks—they start to feel calmer, a little hope.
It’s still dark in the room. But there’s a light out there, somewhere.
