Helices
2020
Two videos,
simultaneously appearing as batons and timekeepers, are playing in repeat. A
schedule of the actual feeding process of two snakes, mapped out in a print, is
mounted high on an adjacent wall. The cutting of a hole in a window and an
object hanging in it completes the three components of this installation. A glance at the inhabitants and workings of the cosmos.
"It's raining diamonds on Jupiter right now. Of course, "right now "is meaningless if you are talking about something 619,000,000 kilometers away-not far by celestial standards, as you know, but plenty far enough to overwhelm a human-o-centric benchmark like simultaneity. And you're surely asking yourself, "What difference do diamond storms on Jupiter make to a snake living in a pet store around the corner from here?" Or to Frank, who feeds her a warm meal of one small rodent every week? In the same amount of time it takes for Frank's snake to digest a field mouse, Galileo, who constructed a telescope to peer at that other, distant sphere more than four centuries ago, discovered four orbiting moons aside it, thus confirming the earth is not the only center of the universe, and neither you. Neither is that mouse. Still, the exhausting abundance of diamonds exploding from clouds on Jupiter doesn't make their scarcity here less of a thing.”
Angie Keefer
"It's raining diamonds on Jupiter right now. Of course, "right now "is meaningless if you are talking about something 619,000,000 kilometers away-not far by celestial standards, as you know, but plenty far enough to overwhelm a human-o-centric benchmark like simultaneity. And you're surely asking yourself, "What difference do diamond storms on Jupiter make to a snake living in a pet store around the corner from here?" Or to Frank, who feeds her a warm meal of one small rodent every week? In the same amount of time it takes for Frank's snake to digest a field mouse, Galileo, who constructed a telescope to peer at that other, distant sphere more than four centuries ago, discovered four orbiting moons aside it, thus confirming the earth is not the only center of the universe, and neither you. Neither is that mouse. Still, the exhausting abundance of diamonds exploding from clouds on Jupiter doesn't make their scarcity here less of a thing.”
Angie Keefer
image by Fan Liao
Helices, 2020
Installation view, het Hem, Zaandam, the Netherlands.
An object based on Galileo's
notes is hanging in a circular hole on a window. It is a three-dimensional
version of one of his drawings depicting the moons of Jupiter, while he was
studying celestial bodies in 1610.
“From then on, theories about the universe had to be tested against the visual evidence of empirical observation”
Galileo’s study, interpreted into ink figures and accompanied by the time of observation, turned into evidence of the motion of the celestial bodies. Through this translation his observations were transformed into a shareable form, this of printed symbols on paper. They could then be able to be spread, influencing subsequent observers and triggering new corresponding studies, translations and forms.
It is the same principle that enables now the conversion of one of his sketches, into a pendant that oscillates freely, influenced by the wind.
“From then on, theories about the universe had to be tested against the visual evidence of empirical observation”
Galileo’s study, interpreted into ink figures and accompanied by the time of observation, turned into evidence of the motion of the celestial bodies. Through this translation his observations were transformed into a shareable form, this of printed symbols on paper. They could then be able to be spread, influencing subsequent observers and triggering new corresponding studies, translations and forms.
It is the same principle that enables now the conversion of one of his sketches, into a pendant that oscillates freely, influenced by the wind.
Callisto, 2020
glass resin, nylon wire.
The two screens are playing two videos repeatedly, and in combination
with the accompanying sound they produce a rhythmic tempo in the room.
The 3D objects presented in the videos were originally created from real objects with the technique of photogrammetry. These new configurations, distributed in online 3D model libraries and communities, are finding multiple uses and take various forms in games, photos, videos and animations. This time, acquiring another appearance as compositions produced through the rotation of their own shape around an axis, they dominate the exhibition space.
The 3D objects presented in the videos were originally created from real objects with the technique of photogrammetry. These new configurations, distributed in online 3D model libraries and communities, are finding multiple uses and take various forms in games, photos, videos and animations. This time, acquiring another appearance as compositions produced through the rotation of their own shape around an axis, they dominate the exhibition space.
image by Fan Liao
helices 1, 2020
CGI video, wood, hanging straps, speakers.
Image by Fan Liao
helices 2, 2020
CGI video, wood, speakers.
The duration of the exhibition is mapped to a graph presenting the feeding and digestion process of two snakes living in a pet shop, 30 km away from the exhibition space, where Mr. Frank works. The nutritional needs that vary from animal to animal, determine the time required before this circular procedure starts again, creating a pattern that defines his weekly work routine.
Can we think of this graph as an opportunity for these two reptiles to express themselves through another medium and way?
Perhaps, this multicolored pattern that emerges can be considered as this expression, derived from the meeting of the eating and digestive routine and needs of the two snakes, with the methodology of pictorial representation and the care of Mr. Frank.
