Four women and three men sit on the floor. Some are laughing uproariously or giggling behind a hand. Others are sobbing, moaning, or wailing uncontrollably and are inconsolable. Not only are the happy ones incapable of empathising with the unhappy ones, and the unhappy ones unable to ask for help. No one is able to share the joy or the sorrow of their neighbours.
Despite the explicit reference to sound in the title 3 laughing and 4 crying, this video installation is astonishing in its complete absence of sound. Aernout Mik's works are known for their ability to express the fragility of the »condition humaine«. The architectonic spaces into which he introduces these images surround the viewers, questioning and wearing them down.
Aernout Mik works with combinations of built-in walls and inset projected video images, which he adapts to the conditions of each site. These in-situ structures significantly contribute to the psychological escalation of the strange feigned filmic scenarios.