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viewpoint series

concept

Viewpoint series is based on the process of perception, focusing on how understanding of space emerges and how it unfolds within time.

In the process of vision, we start by identifying single elements of the percieved image – outlines and lines. This is followed by an emergence of a structure formed of these elements. Elements which turned into structures are grouped once again into meaningful groups and gaps are bridged by repeated approximation. From this process the object itself emerges as a unique, distinguishable entity. One of the object’s features is its – virtual or real - multidimensionality. How does the third dimension – the perception of space (real/mental) emerge?

Space comes into existence as a construct to explain the difference between the right eye and the left eye. The perception of space is confirmed by movement – movement of the eyes itself, or movement of the body. Movement happens in time. This means there is a sequential unfolding of our understanding of space. The understanding of space is acquired gradually. It is based on a process of constantly re-evaluating existing visual stimuli.

On a conceptual level, the same process takes place in mental/virtual environment. Physiological vision is substituted by mental vision and physical locations for mental viewpoints. The array of slightly different approaches the idea and the oscillation between them gives birth to the plasticity and thus ‘space’ of the problem in focus. This mental activity corresponds to the motive of the eye movement. The movement of the body corresponds to a broader perspective, like approaching the same idea from a totally different knowledge background.

The creative process behind Viewpoint series is based on real-world urban landscapes – a given spatial setting - and the experience of acquiring knowledge of this space. In the start, a focal point is defined. From that time onward, each second, each movement represents a new viewpoint of the focal point in question. The focal point serves as the centre of all viewpoints. From these viewpoints – taken the distance of the building each being essentially a flat image – space gradually emerges.

When the above-discussed perceptual process of meaning creation is recorded, it results in a data set. When we view this data set, we expect to be transported back in time to the moment of perception. Once again the question of spatial-temporal representation comes into place. The data set represents a set of discrete values. How should they be presented to create an impression most closely resembling the original percept? There are gaps in between. That is why any model of representation can give an approximate result at best. To recreate the understanding/feeling of space we have a few options to choose from, balancing between a space-based, time-based and conceptual-based model. In a space-based model, we re-create the space in real or virtual terms. In a time-based model, we rely on sequential reading of our experience and the one-eyed vision of a camera. In a conceptual-based model, we rely or our capability of imagination and logical abstraction. Viewpoint series fluctuates in a space between these three approaches.

In its presentation format, Viewpoint series comes closest to the time-based model without becoming too conclusive. The time based model is based on a trick. It is based on an inherent ability of human senses which was mentioned above – the ability to approximate, to guess what is left out. This feature is ‘implemented’ not only on a mental level, but also on the level of vision itself. A sequence of two-dimensional images displayed at an appropriate speed will recreate the feeling of motion in space. Our eyes ‘forget’ the black spaces in-between. A ‘side effect’ is the flickering of the image. It depends on the frequency of the periodic light change and thus works against the above mentioned ‘feature’. In the presentation format of Viewpoint series, both of these elements are interlocked in a mutual relationship, creating an ephemeral visual stimulus in constant change.

The processed data set – the result of the original perceptual experience – is played back to create a virtual perception, a simulation. Yet the data set is too imperfect to give a ‘perfect’ image. We are left with a reduced, discontinuous experience – fragments. Yet what we see is more than a sum of the parts. The resulting experience gives a semi-opaque view - transparent enough to connect to the original data, yet opaque enough so that the process of meaning creation emerges as a perceivable entity itself.