Concept

Open House is an installation by Jack Stenner and Patrick LeMieux that allows visitors to telematically squat in a Florida home undergoing foreclosure after the U.S. housing collapse. Virtual markets transformed this otherwise livable property into a ghost house. Prior to the collapse, the movements of global capital seemed like a distant reality to most homeowners, but in the end it was imaginary systems of value, not bricks and mortar, that fell apart. Open House temporarily resists eviction by mirroring the market and creating hybrid subjects who occupy both virtual and physical space. Cross the threshold, open the door, flicker the lights, and rattle the shutters.