WHO R U

Video
8:36 minutes
2007

WHO R U investigates the urban implications of the aerial view. The project questions the surveillance of public spaces after 9/11, and considers two iconic sites in Boston by simultaneously engaging visitors of the Prudential Tower, Boston's second tallest structure, and passersby in Copley Square. The work identifies the conflation between power and the aerial view at the Pru while creating a public presence in the square. 

The invasive phrase "WHO R U" is spelled out in Copley Square at a scale large enough to be read from the Prudential’s Skywalk Observatory. Volunteers on the ground were directed from the viewing platform via cellular phone on where to lay down letters. A few curious pedestrians assisted and a police officer briefly questioned participants' intentions. 

The phrase comes from a kitschy rap song that is played in a video loop at the Observatory’s permanent exhibition about immigration to the US.  The actors of the video play American immigration officers who begin an interrogation of foreigners with the line: "So you wanna be a US citizen?" And continue:

Who are you? 
Where are you from? 
Where have you been? 
What have you done?

Who R U was completed for “The Production of Public Space,” a graduate seminar taught by Antoni Muntadas at MIT. Currently, the Skywalk Observatory is under renovation and Boston lacks a significant height for the public to experience the city. When the viewing platform re-opens in 2023, how much will this view cost and will the immigration officers return to intimidate?

Video recording by Coryn Kempster.

Group exhibition
Public Space: Lost and Found
MIT
2014