Happening, surveillance cameras and live video installation
2010

"Rental United "was a happening and live video installation by Rental United during Fotanian Open Studios 2010. It was also the 1st showcase by the three artists under "Rental United". The installation consisted of a few surveillance cameras in Rental United's studio. The TV installation outside the studio shows the artists' activities inside. The audience could therefore see the artists and their belongings and the studio simultaneously "without" visiting the site.

The installation blocked the audience from entering the site and was not allowed to enter the studio space. Still, they could only "visit" the entrance area by looking at the TV installation showing the activities inside the studio.

RU's refusal to turn their studio space into a visitor-friendly zone may suggest a sense of discomfort between artists and audiences where the artist does not necessarily need to play any role in the public sphere in an art event setting. Instead, this is an act of statement where in this context, artists had become part of the presentation along with their studio, encouraging the audience to view this presentation as a body of work.

"Inside museums and formal exhibition spaces, we see artists' creations in their final state. The works are displayed as complete entities. The artists do not have to be there in person in these spaces since the pieces can speak for their creators. In contrast, what was shown in artists' studios is not so much about completeness but the flux of creating and the process of making. This is the stage before the artwork is placed in the exhibition space. Inside the studio, artists cannot detach themselves from their practice. Instead, the two are combined and become one. The "works" are slowly given nutrients in a continuous process that does not have a clear starting or ending point.
Studio opening is like using ultrasound to feel the growing process of a baby inside the mother's body. The work is not yet born, but it already exists. This 'opening' is to show the public the real-time activities of the artists inside the studio. Through the use of CCTV, the process of art making is exhibited."