Life is an elaborate, overlapping series of structures: work, family, sports, government, religion, etc. Each of these provides and limits the space in which we conduct the frequently banal business of living. They are taken so much for granted that they seem to us inherent and immutible. What happens when you examine them? By stripping away what we take for granted, are we able to examine the underlying impulses that drive these constructs? Can we re-construct them in a different way?

In this semi-extreme performance, 6 curious artists strip away not only most of modern life's familiar structures, but an entire dimension: they have elected to inhabit a structure that effectively forces them to live in 2 dimensions.

The structure is 4 stories high, 24 feet wide, and 24 inches deep, covered in transparent plastic (vinyl). It resembles a terrarium or "ant farm" and is inspired by the 19th century science fiction novel it is named after, "Flatland".* *(note: Flatland is a very short novel and you can read the whole thing on-line at http://www.geom.uiuc.edu/~banchoff/Flatland/ ).

The structure is outfitted by the participants to accommodate their individual notions: thus the transparent 2-dimensionality of the structure becomes a map of their needs and activities. Also, the 2 dimensional shape of their environment forces their activities to adapt in special ways; for instance, in order to pass one another, they must go above or below; there is no room to go "around".

The participants will be profiled and have personal web pages to post reports and receive communications. Each is a working artist or writer and will attempt to develop projects during the piece. Inhabited by six creative and strong-willed people, the space limitations will require participants to balance their individual needs with those of the others and the group.

The project will be monitored by an array of video cameras, displaying interesting close-up views of the interior and macro views of the unfolding patterns of the "flat screen" the entire structure forms. There should be a live webcam.
The rules are simple: stay in the box. When participants leave the box, they can not re-enter. There is no pressure to stay for a long time; when a participant has had enough, they just leave. The project is completed in 20 days or when everyone has left, whichever comes first.

This piece has references to the Biosphere project, to reality TV such as Big Brother, and to costumed adventure movies in the tradition of "Mission to Mars", and super hero comic books. There is a direct ancestry to installation projects such as "Mir2", "the Tunnel", and "We Have Mice".