Selected by Ali Subotnick

In Dara Friedman’s new video installation, a woman and a man isolated within two separate screens ask themselves, and by implication each other, questions about life’s big issues and small obsessions, ranging from the philosophical to the tantalizing to the exceedingly mundane. Volleying dialogue back-and-forth, falling in-and-out of step, their syncopated exchanges expose the intricate rhythms of human relationships marked by feelings of desire and repulsion, insecurity and jealousy, love and anger. “Are we alone? What will become of us? Did you put gas in the car? What’s that smell? Are you a lot like my mother?” As the short rapid-fire questions accumulate, implications beneath the attractive surface of the actors’ faces and surroundings gradually emerge, suggesting how even the briefest fragment can reveal underlying assumptions about the roles played and the views held by the audience.