My 'Ten Seconds' Project

When I was a little girl, I used to play with my younger brother, Oskar. I was always the boss, and directed what we had to do. We often played hide and seek, but had invented our own way of playing it. I would tell Oskar where to hide, and then count and look aimlessly around pretending not to know where he was. Or we would both hide and get our father, who used to look after us in the mornings, to be the finder. Our hiding places were never very hidden, and in most cases still revealed our small feet or bottoms, but never our faces.

‘Ten Seconds’ is a series of photographs that pay homage to our childhood game. I am now a lot older, and my brother is out in the world, all grown up. I have based ‘Ten Seconds’ on the game we used to play. This time I am directing myself, and the new rule is that I have ten seconds to try and hide, or make myself as small as I possibly can, before my camera goes off on self-timer.

I have also been recording the game with a camcorder, so that I am almost my own seeker, my adult body squeezed into confined spaces, never completely concealed, but also never revealing my true identity.

When we were children, our father used to video us playing. The home movie of my brother and me playing our own invention of Hide and Seek will be shown as part of the Series.

I think this project has the potential to go viral. Recently a new craze appeared, called ‘Planking.’ A person has to lie flat with their arms by their sides; feet stretched out and face looking downwards, expressionless. People all around the world are joining the craze and posting their photographic evidence on Face Book. ‘Planking’ has encouraged creativity and resourcefulness, and brought a community of people together from all different walks of life.

‘Ten Seconds’ could do something similar. Through play, people will be encouraged to be creative and inspire others. I would love to originate a harmless game that involves good photography. Using social media, I would want to make this game ‘viral,’ so that anyone can join in, set the self-timers on their cameras, and hide in the smallest places available.

If you'd like to join me in my mission or just ask a question email me, alma@haser.org