In Search of the Truth : 08/16/13

Friday 16 August 2013

Bagh-e Babur

This is a still from one of the videos taken inside the Truth Booth at Babur Gardens (Bagh-e Babur). The booth was up for about four hours and we got over 60 Truth vids. Great day!

Games

This game is called Carrom and seems really popular. There were tables all over Babur Gardens. Kind of like some old school air hockey.

The Gardens of Babur: The first spot for the Truth Booth.

Built in 1528 for Babur, the first Mughal emperor, the gardens are the most popular destination for the people of Kabul to picnic and spend the day.* The park was rebuilt to original specifications of Babur during 2002-2004 who wanted to make a "theater of heaven." His marble tomb resides at the top of the terraces too.
*Awesome Afghan snackbars in there too.

All hands...raising the booth at the Gardens of Babur

MVI 9270 from Ryan Alexiev on Vimeo.

World Tour

The Truth Booth is a giant inflatable video recording booth that uses this simple format: participants are asked to finish the statement "The Truth is . . ." in under 2 minutes.

This is a long-term public art project by Cause Collective artists Ryan Alexiev, Hank Willis Thomas, and Jim Ricks.

We toured Afghanistan with the Truth Booth in August and September of 2013. We partnered with 1TV, a leading Afghan TV station, and Free Press Unlimited to help bring the booth to remote regions of the country.

Using this open ended format, we hope to engage directly with the people of Afghanistan (whose voice often remains unheard by traditional broadcast media) and create a innovative form of cross-cultural conversation and understanding.

Since, we have taken the Booth to Cleveland, OH, Burning Man, Palo Alto, CA, and the Facebook HQ. We are on our way to South Africa and Miami next.