Lorna (1979—1983) is an installation using the first interactive video art disc. Different objects are placed in a furnitured appartment—like space with a TV set. By using the remote control, users can make choices for Lorna — an agoraphobic woman and protagonist of the installation who never leaves her appartment and experiences the world through the television. More ↓↑
Every object has its number that — when pressed on remote control — provides sound and video information about personal history of Lorna, her dreams, expectations and fears, or influences her activities. The video material is structured in 36 chapters, which can be sequenced differently with the remote control to change their contexts and meanings. Several possible plots of Lorna’s life can be controlled, leading to three possible endings. Hershman’s work can be seen as an early version of a non—linear audiovisual narrative structure applied in an analogue interactive environment in which physical objects bridge the real and virtual worlds.
Installation Lorna is part of the collection of Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie ZKM in Karlsruhe.
Place and date of documentation: Multimediale 5, ZKM Medienmuseum Karlsruhe, 18.10—9.11.1997
