Olivia Topalian (she/her)

I’m a woman.
I’m a news reporter.
I’m a health expert.
I’m a narrator.
I’m a psychopath.
I’m a real estate agent.
I’m a doctor.
I’m a waitress.
I’m a barista.
I’m a friend.
I’m a therapist.
I’m a teacher.
I’m a girlfriend.
I’m a trope.
I’m a bully.
I’m a dentist.
I’m talking to myself,
As if I’m talking to somebody else.
Who are they?
They’re a viewer.
They’re a listener.
They’re a client.
They’re a friend.
They’re a student.
They’re a patient.
They’re a lover.
They’re a viewer.
They’re a nemesis.
They’re a manager.
They’re a customer.
They’re a sexist.
They’re a receptionist.
They’re a mother.
They’re a confidant.
They’re a character.
I’m a character.
We are one.
Works

Paltering
Paltering: the active use of truthful statements to convey a misleading impression
Paltering (2021) is a multifaceted collective of short films which unitedly simulate the act of channel-flicking.
The aesthetical and contextual cliches displayed on T.V. every day allow us, as an audience, to presume the narrative of what we are watching by reflecting upon what we have seen before.
Through the creation of double-ended scripture and mirroring some of the key narratives and aesthetics that viewers expect from television, Paltering opposes the assumed narratives of its T.V. shows (Today’s News, Living with My Clone, Off The Map) when their QR codes are scanned.
If you do not have access to a device that can scan QR codes, please use the list of Project Links to guide you through the programmes and adverts.