STRANGE ATTRACTORS
THIS BODY OF WORK CONSISTS OF 3D SCANS CREATED USING THE PHOTOGRAMMETRY TECHNIQUE. IN PHYSICS, STRANGE ATTRACTORS ARE COMPLEX PATTERNS THAT ARISE IN THE BEHAVIOR OF NONLINEAR SYSTEMS, EXHIBITING INTRICATE AND IRREGULAR BEHAVIOR.
SIMILAR TO HOW ATTRACTORS IN PHYSICS DESCRIBE THE VALUES TOWARD WHICH A SYSTEM TENDS TO EVOLVE, THE SCANNED BODIES IN THE ARTWORK REPRESENT ATTRACTORS THEMSELVES. THEY DISINTEGRATE AND TRANSFORM INTO MYTHICAL FIGURES DUE TO DISRUPTION AND MOVEMENT, CREATING A CLOUD OF POINTS, OR A POINT CLOUD. THIS TRANSFORMATION INTO MYTHICAL FIGURES IS SYMBOLIC OF THE DISRUPTIVE AND NOISY NATURE OF STRANGE ATTRACTORS.
THE ARTWORK HIGHLIGHTS THE PROPERTIES OF STRANGE ATTRACTORS, SUCH AS APERIODICITY AND SENSITIVE DEPENDENCE ON INITIAL CONDITIONS. THROUGH THIS INTEGRATION, THE ARTWORK AIMS TO EVOKE CONTEMPLATION AND REFLECTION ON THE INTERCONNECTEDNESS OF CHAOS AND ORDER, AND THE INTRICATE PATTERNS THAT EMERGE FROM NONLINEAR SYSTEMS.
"STRANGE ATTRACTORS 2022" INVITES VIEWERS TO EXPLORE THE MESMERIZING WORLD OF COMPLEX SYSTEMS, WHERE DISRUPTION AND MOVEMENT GIVE RISE TO CAPTIVATING AND UNPREDICTABLE OUTCOMES.
EXHIBITION X
THIS PROJECT EXPLORES THE POLITICS WITHIN THE FIELD OF ART AS A PLACE OF WORK, FOCUSING ON POWER STRUGGLES AND ECONOMIC INTERESTS. A VIRTUAL EXHIBITION WAS PLANNED TO EXAMINE PARALLEL REALITIES AND THE CLASH BETWEEN REALITY AND FICTION. BY PRESENTING THE EXHIBITION SOLELY ON SOCIAL MEDIA, THIS PROJECT BLURRED THE LINES BETWEEN THE VIRTUAL AND PHYSICAL WORLDS, SINCE THE EXHIBITION NEVER ACTUALLY EXISTED PHYSICALLY IN THE SPACE IT WAS CLAIMED TO OCCUPY (THE VIRTUAL EXHIBITION WAS GENERATED BASED ON A SPECIFIC, ACTUAL, GALLERY SPACE IN THE MOMA PS1). THE RESPONSE FROM VIEWERS LED TO UNEXPECTED CONSEQUENCES, SPARKING DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THE NATURE OF VIRTUAL SPACES AND THE DISTORTION OF REALITY. THE PROCESS INVOLVES COMBINING PHOTOGRAPHY AND SCANNING TECHNIQUES TO HIGHLIGHT GLITCHES AS OPPORTUNITIES TO STEP OUTSIDE OF THE CONCRITE AND GAIN NEW PERSPECTIVES.
ANTHROPOLYSIS
"ANTHROPO" = HUMAN
"LYSIS" = THE DISINTEGRATION OF A CELL
FOR MILLENNIA, HUMANITY HAS REFUSED TO ACCEPT BEING "STUCK" IN THE DIMENSIONS OF SPACE AND TIME AND HAS CONSTANTLY SOUGHT FOR WAYS TO BREAK FREE FROM THE BOUNDARIES OF PHYSICAL REALITY. IN HER WORKS, CARMI DROR REFERS TO SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS, WHICH AFFECT OUR EXPERIENCING OF TIME AND SPACE IN THE WESTERN WORLD AND THE RADICAL CHANGES BROUGHT FORTH BY THE DIGITAL ERA.
HER WORKS ARE BASED IN A PRACTICE OF MAPPING OUT THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODELS, BORROWED FROM THE WORLD OF ANIMATION AND COMPUTER-GENERATED IMAGERY. THE IMAGE BEGINS WITH A STILL-SHOT OF A HUMAN BODY. DROR MOVES AROUND A MODEL WITH HER CAMERA AND PERPETUATES IT IN DOZENS OF PICTURES, WHICH SHE THEN FEEDS INTO A SOFTWARE THAT PROCESSES THEM AS THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODELS. THE WORKS DISPLAYED IN THIS EXHIBITION COMBINE DIFFERENT WORLDS: ANALOGUE AND DIGITAL, ACTUAL AND VIRTUAL, REAL AND SIMULATED. IT IS PRECISELY THE GRAINY, PIXELATED LOOK, SO IDENTIFIED WITH THE DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT, THAT IS AT THE CORE OF THE PHOTOGRAPHED HUMAN SUBJECT, WHOSE BREATH AND CONSTANT MOVEMENT ALLOWS FOR ONLY PART OF THE INFORMATION TO BE TRANSFERRED INTO THE SOFTWARE, AND CREATE AN IMAGE THAT IS BROKEN AND DECONSTRUCTED.
THE IMAGE THAT SEEM FOREIGN ON ONE HAND AND FAMILIAR ON THE OTHER, ACTIVATES THE VIEWER’S IMAGINATION AND TAKES HIM ON A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME. THE NAKED BODY REFERENCES TO CLASSIC WORKS OF ART IN PAINTING AND SCULPTURE, WHILE ITS DECONSTRUCTED ALLUDES TO AVANT-GARDE SCHOOLS LIKE CUBISM AND FUTURISM WHOSE GOAL WAS TO REPRESENT THE ESSENCE OF THEIR ERA AND THE REVOLUTIONS THAT CHANGED MEN’S LIVES BEYOND RECOGNITION. IN THIS CONTEXT, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE NOT TO WONDER ABOUT THE IMAGE’S FUTURE, AS WELL AS ABOUT OUR OWN.
-TEXT BY MAYA FRANKEL TENE-
FIRST CONTACT
THE PHOTOGRAPHY SERIES TITLED "FIRST CONTACT | OCCUPATION" DEPICTS HUMAN HANDS THAT APPEAR TO DISINTEGRATE AND SEPARATE. THIS EFFECT WAS ACHIEVED BY CAPTURING GENTLE MOVEMENTS DURING THE SCANNING PROCESS OF A 3D MODEL, CAPTURING ELEMENTS SUCH AS HEARTBEATS AND BREATHING. THE RESULTING MODELS WERE THEN PHOTOGRAPHED DIRECTLY FROM A COMPUTER SCREEN, WITH THE CAMERA FLASH HIGHLIGHTING THE DUST PARTICLES PRESENT AT THAT MOMENT.
IN CONTEMPORARY TIMES, IT IS UNDERSTOOD THAT WHEN ISOLATED HUMAN TRIBES COME INTO CONTACT WITH MODERN SOCIETY, THERE IS A MINIMAL CHANCE OF SURVIVAL DUE TO THE LACK OF IMMUNITY TO MODERN HUMAN BACTERIA. THIS KNOWLEDGE LEADS ANTHROPOLOGISTS TO APPROACH SUCH ENCOUNTERS WITH CAUTION. THE DECOMPOSED HUMAN HANDS IN THE ARTWORK BLUR THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN THE PHYSICAL WORLD AND THE DIGITAL REALM, AS WELL AS BETWEEN HUMANITY AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.
MAPS
THROUGH THE DECONSTRUCTION OF 3D MODELS USING SOFTWARE, THIS BODY OF WORK DELVES INTO THE REALM OF 'COMPUTER ART' THAT EXPLORES THE INTERCONNECTIONS BETWEEN BODY, OBJECT, AND TIME. BY INTERPRETING A 3D MODEL AS A 2D MAP AND DISSECTING IT INTO ITS INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS, THE WORK TRANSCENDS THE LIMITATIONS OF THE PROGRAM'S INTENDED FUNCTION. THE MODELS APPEAR TO LOSE CONTROL, RESULTING IN THE CREATION OF 'FREE' IMAGES. IN ESSENCE, THE COMPUTER ITSELF BECOMES A MEDIUM FOR GENERATING A NEW LANGUAGE, AKIN TO 'PAINTINGS'. THE MAPPING OF MODELS INTO PARTICLES AND 2D LINES YIELDS INTRICATE MAPS, FORMING A CRYPTIC LANGUAGE THAT IS COMPREHENSIBLE PRIMARILY TO THE COMPUTER.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE SERIES TITLED 'TIME MAPS' PLACES PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON THE PERCEPTION AND REPRESENTATION OF TIME IN BOTH THE PHYSICAL AND VIRTUAL REALMS. UTILIZING THE SOFTWARE, THE WORK RECONSTRUCTS 3D MODELS OF VARIOUS TYPES OF CLOCKS. UNLIKE THE 'BODY MAPS' SERIES, CERTAIN COMMANDS IN THE SOFTWARE ALLOW FOR AN INFINITE STATE OF DISMANTLING THE MODELS, GIVING RISE TO NEW DRAWINGS THAT DEVIATE FROM THE ORIGINAL FORM.
MODEL NO’ 9
IN 'MODEL NO. 9' CARMI DROR PRESENTS ONE HUMAN FIGURE - A WOMAN IN THREE STATES OF EXISTENCE AND DISINTEGRATION. DROR IS TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS OF HER MODEL FROM ALL ANGLES. THE DOCUMENTATION OF THE MODEL TAKES TIME THAT REQUIRES THE PHOTOGRAPHER AND THE PHOTOGRAPHED MODEL TO BE IN MOTION. IN THIS ACTION DROR IS CIRCLING AROUND THE MODEL AT 360 DEGREES AND THE WOMAN MODEL IS BREATHING AND MOVING IN HER PLACE AS THE PHOTOGRAPHIC ACTION EXTENDS. AFTER THE PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION, THE TENS OF PHOTOGRAPHS ARE IMPORTED INTO A COMPUTER SOFTWARE WHICH COMPOSES A THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODEL OF THE WOMAN. FROM IT, DROR ISOLATES THREE IMAGES IN 2D. THE DECOMPOSITIONS OF THE DATA IN THE IMAGES ARE CREATED BY THE MOVEMENT DURING THE PHOTOGRAPHIC ACTION. THE MISSING INFORMATION IN THE FIGURE ARE THE PARTS IN THE PORTRAIT THAT WERE IN MOTION. LATER ON, THE DISTORTED 2D IMAGES ARE PROCESSED AND TEXTURED. THE FIGURES ARE DISMANTLED / CONNECTED AS FRAGMENTS OF TIME, DETACHED FROM A LINEAR-HISTORICAL NARRATIVE. THEY FLOAT FROM THE GRAY "SPACE" WHICH IS THE BACKGROUND OF THE DIGITAL SOFTWARE. THE FIGURE IN MODEL NO. 9 CAN REFER TO THE SUMERIAN GODDESS ISHTAR - THE QUEEN OF HEAVEN WHICH WAS CONSIDERED THE GODDESS OF FERTILITY AND LOVE, AND AT THE SAME TIME, THE GODDESS OF WAR. THE AKKADIAN GODDESS ALSO KNOWN FOR CONTROLLING THE FORCES OF THE UNIVERSE AND THE CYCLES OF LIFE AND DEATH.
-TEXT BY ILANIT KONOPNY-
CHARACTERS
THIS BODY OF WORK PRESENTS A CAPTIVATING COLLECTION OF WHITE CHARACTERS SET AGAINST A DEEP BLACK BACKGROUND, EMERGING THROUGH THE INTERPLAY OF LIGHT REFLECTIONS ON WATER. IT CAPTURES THE FLUIDITY AND MOVEMENT OF LIGHT AS IT DANCES UPON THE WATER'S SURFACE, EVOKING THE EPHEMERAL NATURE OF EXISTENCE.
DRAWING CONNECTIONS TO TAOISM, THE ARTWORK EMBODIES THE CONSTANT FLUX AND TRANSFORMATION EMPHASIZED IN TAOIST TEACHINGS. THE ABSTRACT PRINTS SYMBOLIZE THE EVER-CHANGING TAO, WITH THE CHARACTERS REPRESENTING THE TRANSIENT AND ELUSIVE NATURE OF EXISTENCE.
ADDITIONALLY, THE ARTWORK RESONATES WITH ASEMIC WRITING, WHERE THE WHITE CHARACTERS TRANSCEND LINGUISTIC BOUNDARIES, INVITING INTUITIVE INTERPRETATION. THEY CAN APPEAR AS STANDALONE DIGITS OR FORM A CONTINUOUS SEQUENCE, FOSTERING CONTEMPLATION AND A MEDITATIVE EXPERIENCE.
THE FLOATING PROJECT
THE 'FLOATING PROJECT' IS A COMPILATION OF ARTWORKS CREATED FROM 2014 TO 2018, CONSISTING OF TWO MAIN COMPONENTS: THE 'FLOATING RED' PIECE FROM 2014 AND THE 'FLOATING BLUE TRILOGY' SPANNING FROM 2014 TO 2018. EACH WORK COMPRISES A SINGLE CHANNEL VIDEO PROJECTION THAT DELVES INTO THE CONCEPT OF UTILIZING THE ENIGMATIC " DARK MATTER" WITHIN A PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE.
CINEMA BLUE | 2016 (10:00 MIN) IS THE SECOND INSTALLMENT IN THE 'FLOATING BLUE TRILOGY' VIDEO SERIES. THIS PARTICULAR VIDEO ARTWORK TAKES VIEWERS ON A COSMIC EXPLORATION AS A MOVIE THEATER TRANSFORMS INTO A THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODEL SUSPENDED WITHIN THE VAST EXPANSE OF A BLACK VOID.
THE MODEL ITSELF IS COMPOSED OF INTRICATE BLUE DOTS, REPRESENTING "NO INFORMATION" PARTICLES EXTRACTED FROM THE ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH USED TO CREATE THE MODEL. THESE BLUE DOTS ARE THE RESULT OF A PHOTO PROCESSING APPLICATION EMPLOYED TO ENHANCE THE DARKER AREAS OF THE IMAGES. AS THE VIDEO UNFOLDS, IT INVITES VIEWERS ON A JOURNEY DEEP INTO THE ENIGMATIC REALM OF THE IMAGE'S OWN BLACK MATTER, DELVING INTO THE HIDDEN DEPTHS OF ITS VISUAL COMPOSITION.
THE PROJECTORS ARCHIVE
THIS BODY OF WORK PUSHES THE BOUNDARIES OF TRADITIONAL PROJECTION BY UTILIZING BROKEN AND MALFUNCTIONING PROJECTORS COLLECTED BY THE ARTIST, CARMI DROR, OVER TIME. THIS ONGOING PROJECT EXPLORES THE BEAUTY FOUND WITHIN THE IMPERFECTIONS AND DETERIORATION OF THESE PROJECTORS, OFFERING A VISUAL EXPERIENCE THAT BLURS THE LINE BETWEEN TECHNOLOGY AND ART.
AS VIEWERS ENTER THE EXHIBITION SPACE, THEY ENCOUNTER A DISPLAY OF BROKEN PROJECTORS EMITTING A FASCINATING ARRAY OF BURNED PIXELS AND DAMAGED IMAGERY THROUGH BEAMS OF LIGHT. THESE ARTIFACTS MANIFEST AS A SCATTERED COMPOSITION OF WHITE DOTS, BLACK DOTS, AND BLUE LINES, CREATED BY THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN LIGHT AND ABSENCE OF LIGHT. THE RESULT IS A CAPTIVATING INTERPLAY OF TEXTURES AND PATTERNS, REMINISCENT OF STAR CONSTELLATIONS.
ONE INTRIGUING ASPECT OF THIS ARTWORK LIES IN THE CONCEPT OF "HOT PIXELS," WHICH ARE PIXEL DEFECTS COMMONLY FOUND IN MALFUNCTIONING PROJECTORS. THESE HOT PIXELS APPEAR AS BRIGHT SPOTS OR GLOWING DOTS IN THE PROJECTED IMAGE, ADDING AN UNEXPECTED ELEMENT TO THE COMPOSITION. THIS SIMILARITY TO DYING STARS INVITES CONTEMPLATION ON THE IMPERMANENCE OF TECHNOLOGY.
FURTHERMORE, THIS BODY OF WORK OFTEN FINDS ITS HOME IN PUBLIC SPACES, ALLOWING VIEWERS TO IMMERSE THEMSELVES IN THE PROJECTIONS AND BECOME AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE ARTWORK. AS INDIVIDUALS INTERACT WITH THE ARTWORK, THEIR PRESENCE INFLUENCES THE PATTERNS AND MOVEMENTS OF THE LIGHT, CREATING A DYNAMIC AND PARTICIPATORY EXPERIENCE THAT BLURS THE BOUNDARIES BETWEEN THE OBSERVER AND THE OBSERVED.
THIS ARTWORK IS AN ONGOING PROJECT, AND AS TIME PASSES, THE PROJECTORS CONTINUE TO DETERIORATE, FURTHER ENHANCING THE ORGANIC AND EVER-CHANGING NATURE OF THE INSTALLATION. EACH PROJECTION BECOMES A FLEETING MOMENT, SHOWING THE FRAGILE BEAUTY FOUND WITHIN DECAY.
