Spur is part of an investigation into the aspects of human experience which shape an individual's perceptions of themselves in relation to others and to the social and physical systems which they inhabit. In it, a set of domestic objects which are used to contain or carry other things (cradles, bowls, suitcases, scales) hold speakers which broadcast recordings of people speaking in several languages of confidence and fear, sickness and well-being, community and isolation, certainty and indecision. Motion detectors are used to register the movements of viewers, and these sometimes trigger a set of sounds (crowds, heartbeats) that temporarily mask the sounds of recorded speech. The relationship of viewer-activated sounds to the voices emanating from the objects lends an aspect of frailty to the voices which reinforces the visual image of an individual inside of or subject to the constraints of a larger system.
