This is the introduction. To view the full interactive documentary, see: insidethedistance.net
ARTIST STATEMENT
Inside the Distance is an interactive documentary about Restorative Justice, an alternative to retributive justice and punishment. Restorative Justice engages those affected by a crime in resolving the damage the crime has caused. In Belgium restorative justice is part of the criminal justice system. Victims and offenders are offered the opportunity to take an active part in the conclusion of their cases through mediation. In mediation, victims and offenders meet face-to-face. Each gives an account of their own experience of the crime and its impact on their life. Each is heard and recognized.
Inside the Distance stages reenactments of this encounter as described by victims, offenders and mediators. It explores the subject position of each party – and the many ways in which those positions are fluid.
Sharon Daniel is a digital media artist who creates interactive and participatory documentary artworks addressing issues of social, racial and environmental injustice, with a particular focus on mass incarceration and the criminal justice system. Her work is located at the nexus of art and activism, theory and practice. Over the course of her career she has produced two distinct but related forms of internet art – participatory media platforms and interactive new media documentaries. While this work is often expanded into interactive installations, which have been exhibited and published internationally, Daniel’s core practice is the development of innovative online interfaces to databases of original interviews and participant-generated content.
