Secret Words and Related Stories

Secret Words and Related Stories is a set of anonymously collected passwords and the stories behind them. The entry point is personal “secrets” and security, and their place in contemporary society. To examine independence—a limited kind of independence—is to unravel what security means to the identity, a kind of coding of physical history and memory to access all kinds of commerce and services in the virtual world. That key is compressed into these fragments of language (passwords) that are unpackaged through the work. In the video, young actors between the ages of 12 and 16 years stand in front of a red backdrop and read from a sheet of paper, narrating personal confessions, childhood memories, and clichéd rationalities. These are thoughtful, humorous, and emotional stories about a chosen word that often discloses personal information, which is the antithesis of its purpose. The 74 passwords and corresonding stories featured in this video are also collected in an eponymous book, published in the style of a paperback novel.

This screening is part of Words Takeover, the fourth chapter of the online program Takeover curated by Julian Ross for e-flux Video & Film, and unfolding in six chapters between September 22 and December 15, 2022, with the films and videos of each chapter streaming for two weeks.

For more information, contact program@e-flux.com.