To Err is Human
Carina Adijanto
To fail is part of the human condition. Due to societal pressures from the educational system’s habit of celebrating perfection and punishing mistakes, and the modern belief that failure is a fault within us, we avoid it at all costs. No matter the scale or impact, the failures that resonate with an individual are valid because it speaks to a deeper emotion within them. “To Err is Human” strives to redefine perceptions of failure through the claim that failure is subjective and transient, through an installation where every failure is equal. These stories become statements that other people relate to, not because of the person attached to them, but because it is a testament of life lived.
An individual types and submits their failure to begin. An integral aspect of the experience is the option to “let go” as the catalyst to catharsis. The failures that are set free float up to join other released stories. The unreleased stories sink towards the bottom. Participants can then either read related failures or they can leave the installation with a code to release it on the website in their own time.
The installation lives on as a website. Participants are encouraged to continue submitting and to filter through the archives. This collection thus becomes an indicator of our society through the experiences we most often choose to ignore or hide, but that ultimately bind us together as human beings.