Calling Thorwald (2004)

In the film Rear Window (1954) Alfred Hitchcock delivers much of the plot through the eyes of the lead character L. B Jefferies (James Stewart), carefully manipulating and appealing to the voyeuristic desires of the cinema audience. It is easy to associate ourselves with Stewart's character as we endure the same suspense and anticipation, and the effect submerges the viewer into the story.

Calling Thorwald is an interactive video installation that seemingly implicates the viewer in the plot. By dialling a number on a 1950's telephone the user initiates a sequence of edited footage from the film.

[Film Temporarily Removed]

In the video we watch from Stewart's viewpoint as the telephone in Thorwald's appartment begins to ring. The character who knows someone suspects him of murdering his wife, enters the room and nervously answers the call, speaking through the telephone.

The piece is intended to blur the boundaries of fiction and reality and to gratify our desire to engage more deeply in fictional spaces. The user becomes the unwitting harrasser, a protagonist in the plot like James Stewart. Watching through the eyes of L.B Jefferies, through the screen through Thorwalds Window, a deeper, more complex immersion in the film can be experienced.

Thanks to Stephen Jayna

Pictured at the Royal College of Art interim show, the piece was built into a box at the top of a ladder, to expoit the visitor's curiosity and intensify the voyeuristic experience.