Falsification Factor
Rosenkeller - Johannisstrasse 13, Jena, Germany 2006
A reflective material is always an attraction to the human eye. Most of the time it works for us as an aid to our senses in dark spaces, and usually we perceive it as a reliable sign, a reference point. Could it be ignored? Could we mistrust it? In his book “The Art of Color” Johannes Itten refers to the sense of sight and extensively analyzes the process of complementarization. According to Itten, when the human eye looks at a green surface for not more than thirty seconds and suddenly turns to a white surface seems to have a warmer undertone or a slightly red tint. A similar phenomenon can be observed in the relationship between light and darkness or in that of known and unknown elements, as set up in my installation Falsification Factor. As in Itten’s complementary color theory, my work explores physiological elements of recognition and deception. This installation consists of two basic elements: first, the concrete and real space and second, the reflective structure I applied to it, which works as a falsified design. A headlight is provided to participants as they approach the entrance of the space. Equipped with this headlight, they enter the dark space and slowly walk around, explore and investigate. This headlight serves as a guide, for the space staged with the reflective material is not identical to the material structure of the surrounding architecture. The work does not exist by itself because it is only through the headlights that it comes to life. The participants activate the installation by lighting its unknown points, by investigating its episodes. They not only have to find the reflective structures, but also what is hiding behind them to be able to position themselves in space.
Rosenkeller - Johannisstrasse 13, Jena, Germany 2006
A reflective material is always an attraction to the human eye. Most of the time it works for us as an aid to our senses in dark spaces, and usually we perceive it as a reliable sign, a reference point. Could it be ignored? Could we mistrust it? In his book “The Art of Color” Johannes Itten refers to the sense of sight and extensively analyzes the process of complementarization. According to Itten, when the human eye looks at a green surface for not more than thirty seconds and suddenly turns to a white surface seems to have a warmer undertone or a slightly red tint. A similar phenomenon can be observed in the relationship between light and darkness or in that of known and unknown elements, as set up in my installation Falsification Factor. As in Itten’s complementary color theory, my work explores physiological elements of recognition and deception. This installation consists of two basic elements: first, the concrete and real space and second, the reflective structure I applied to it, which works as a falsified design. A headlight is provided to participants as they approach the entrance of the space. Equipped with this headlight, they enter the dark space and slowly walk around, explore and investigate. This headlight serves as a guide, for the space staged with the reflective material is not identical to the material structure of the surrounding architecture. The work does not exist by itself because it is only through the headlights that it comes to life. The participants activate the installation by lighting its unknown points, by investigating its episodes. They not only have to find the reflective structures, but also what is hiding behind them to be able to position themselves in space.