#PleaseDon'tEatTheCandy

"Please Don't Eat the Candy" began as a social experiment while I was on residency at the School of the Visual Arts in New York. Candy bowls were placed on pedestals of busy sidewalks in Chelsea Manhattan with signs that read "Please Don't Eat the Candy." A hidden camera watched and recorded a full day of footage, then broadcast it to one of the television sets in the interior gallery of the School of the Visual Arts Gallery alongside the video installation Crush. People did one of three things. 1. Knowing there was nobody watching and no repercussions would ensue, they took the candy. 2. They confronted the candy bowl, considered the implications, looked around and questioned themselves and left. 3. They either did one of the aforementioned things, and in addition, something initially unexpected. They removed their cell phone and took a picture of what they had just experienced to share with friends. The hashtag was added thereafter.