Sonder Eye attempts to shift the perspective of the dangerous stranger world to one where a person can stay still for a moment and step in another’s shoes. Instead of disregarding a person that does not belong, it urges the viewer to try to understand their perspective. The figure of the stranger is not a physical object or a profile socially agreed upon, but all created in one individual's mind and judgment, an individual's construction of the 'other' (Said, 1978). This installation attempts to bring depth to the 2D representations we create of passerbyes. For a few moments, place a random other as the main character. Think of their highs and lows, past and present. Then, as it is all one's perception, leave this fleeting interaction, keep the story and move on.
Aiming to affect Sonder, the installation guides the viewer to spend some time with a random person who they usually might ignore. While walking in a crowded public space, the viewer will spot the sonder eye, a periscopic viewing device installed in an isolated room, a bubble to say. The eye will be looking out into another public space from across the world. What follows are snippets of intimate moments or artifacts fabricated to suit various individuals from the remote setting, provoking the viewer to think about the stranger's life from a new perspective.