Rodney Glick, Chris Hill and Sohan Ariel Hayes
Everyone No.2,052,234,999
Cosmology Commission
2007-08
Digital Print
75 x 100cm
Edition 5
Everyone comprises a series of eight photographic works and was a collaboration between Rodney, Sohan Ariel Hayes and Chris Hill. It shows pages as if from an open book. On one page of the spread is a photographic portrait, showing the subject with two or more sets of arms. On the other side is text describing in the subjects own words, first in their own language then in translation, their views on cosmology and their place in the universe.
The subjects are from different age groups, implying a fictional family. The images are not personalised with the name of the subject, only a reference number is shown suggesting that somewhere there is an index where details can be looked up. The reference numbers are huge, in the billions, implying that this is in fact a universal project to document Everyone, and that these are perhaps examples from the Bali volume, or maybe some sort of pilot project.
Working with a Balinese consultant, Anak Agung Gede Putra Rangki, interviews were conducted in either Balinese or Indonesian and photographs taken. The multiple arms suggest something special, almost magical, about the subjects that can be seen as relating to their beliefs. Underlying much of what is said in their comments on cosmology is the Balinese concept of Tri Hita Karana, which is that balance in life comes from having harmonious relationships with God, with fellow human beings, and with the environment. It is a philosophy of life appropriate for everyone.