steve roden
thought i couldn't breath, 2001
exhibition: transit/survival skills, scottsdale, az, february, 2002
and raid projects, los angeles

'thought i couldn't breath' was created for the exhibition 'transit/survival skills' in scottsdale arizona. i had wanted to do a work for awhile using a contemporary pop song to create a meditative space, and with the title for this show, i decided to do a site specific work using the destiny's child song 'survivor' as the only source material. it was installed in a small closet without a door (basically an alcove), which acted as a kind of resonance chamber. the work played very quietly and had the presence of a small gathering of insects.

the words 'thought i couldn't breath' were written in pencil on the wall near the speakers to draw the listener's attention to the audio. the title and wall text are a found misspelling of part of the lyics sound on the web. the original line being thought i couldn't breathe.

my original connection back to the title of the exhibition beyond the title of the original song i used, was an attempt to take something connected to the part of culture that i feel no connection to in terms of it's necessity towards my own survival, and turning into something that has a different kind of cultural value - obviously my work will not be played on the radio or pumped up in someone's car; but of course, it has a different kind of intentionality - to create a space of quiet amongst the prevelance of loudness in culture.

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