Disconsent: Pedagogy, Labor, Care, 2018-20

Digital video; 11:17 minutes (looped); 12:15 minutes (looped); 26:45 minutes (looped)

Videography: Harold Batista

Mix: Michael Webster

In this work, four participants relate a narrative to the camera telling of a time where they either consented or dissented in a particular context. Each then re-tells the narrative of another, reversing the terms of consent and dissent. This reversal can range from replacing the terms used in the original narrative (for example, replacing "yes" with "no") to inventing new details of the narrative. The 4-channel video is played on a continuous loop without marking which of the narratives is “original” or to whom they belong.

In Disconsent: Pedagogy (2018), four of Shvarts' former students relate a narrative to the camera telling of a time where they either consented or dissented in the context of school. Participants: Kevin Quiles Bonilla, Juliana Broad, Jeion Green, Aaron Madison.

In Disconsent: Labor (2020), four people who have worked with Shvarts relate a narrative to the camera telling of a time where they either consented or dissented in the context of work. Participants: Luming Hao, Morgan Falconer, Ellen Tepfer, Jessica Rankin.

In this Disconsent: Care (2020), four curators who have curated Shvarts' work relate a narrative to the camera telling of a time where they either consented or dissented in the context of care. Participants: Gee Wesley, Avram Finkelstein, Sara Reisman, Piper Marshall.