Reverse Blinking
"Reverse Blinking" (2010) consists of googles which make the world see(m) unreal. A work by Ief Spincemaille (BE).
Reverse Blinking
Imagine that somebody's head is captured inside a photo camera. It is completely dark, and only when the shutter opens and closes, he or she can see the world in a flash. The shutter moves so fast that nothing has time to move. Everything he or she points his/her gaze at becomes a photograph, a memory; people become frozen figures, and life turns into some kind of slide show.
Reverse Blinking by Ief Spincemaille creates such an experience. The work consists of a completely closed helmet with two shutters positioned in front of the eyes, which open and close in 0.3 seconds and can be controlled by the user. Reverse Blinking is powered by batteries and can be used both inside and outside of the exhibition space.
Reverse Blinking is part of a series of artworks that attempt to add video and photographical effects to the way we naturally see. While virtual reality goggles try to make us believe that the images we see are real, Spincemaille's device does exactly the opposite. The googles manipulate our vision in order to make the real environment around us look utterly unreal, as if it was an image. By doing this, the artist shows to which degree contemporary society is dominated by images: according to Spinceimaille, the world has become an image and the image has become reality.
http://www.iefspincemaille.com/index.php?/off-stage/reversed-blinking/
Supported by the Flemish Authorities.
