current projects

PLAIN

Plain will present to the audience a panoramic video projection, equivalent in scope to the full field of human vision, with the video image processed to visually replicate the structure of central and peripheral vision.
For the purposes of this project I am designing and building a wearable video recording apparatus, consisting of three lenses aligned with precision to record a seamless panorama. It will be worn resting just above eye-level, and transmit the video streams to receivers in a backpack. The combined panoramic image will be gradually altered outside of the 30 degree slice of central vision, based on parameters established in the course of vision field research.
I am currently in the process of conducting such research by employing a self-constructed table top instrument marked with 5-degree increments. The characteristics of peripheral vision include gradual loss of sharpness, inability to perceive full range of color, and at the edges, visibility becoming largely dependent on the contrast between blocks of color and presence of motion.
The footage will be shot in two locations, Juneau, Alaska and New York City. Juneau cannot be reached by surface, since it has no connections to major highway systems, and is surrounded by Alaskan wilderness. Equipped with the recording device, I will move through paved roads that bisect Juneau to points where these roads end, arriving at untainted horizon. This environment will be juxtaposed with that of the narrow, cavernous streets of lower Manhattan, city avenues flanked by high-rises, leading me to face the built-up vistas of outer boroughs.
The goal of the installation is to bring to the viewer’s awareness the expanse and limitation of the field of vision and its visual characteristics, which are taken for granted in the daily course of life.