Viewing Engine
Our reality is constructed by the senses and interpreted by the mind. Once we understand the methods of fabrication, reality becomes malleable and negotiable. This project investigates a means to reframe the ordinary. Regular environmental cues subtly perpetuate habitual thoughts and actions. Only through disruption can we gain a new perspective. Gathering and compiling image fragments, Viewing Engine allows us to take notice and discover the unexpected.
In the gallery setting, the Viewing Engine grabs imagery from the surrounding architecture and artwork to create a new, dynamic, two-dimensional composition. The space is deconstructed and rearranged visually to allow viewers to draw new connections and reexamine what otherwise might be overlooked.
The viewer no longer has the sense of looking through volumetric tubes. Instead, it appears as if one is looking straight through a multi-paned window. Designed to be viewed from a distance of exactly four feet, the geometry of the Viewing Engine is shaped entirely by the extents of the light rays traveling from the environment, bouncing off the mirrors, and terminating at the viewer’s eye. In this way, it makes viewing tangible, allowing us to see ourselves seeing.
