2006
The Babel Machine
Installation
2006
Synopsis
Most of the time, the Babel Machine does nothing. It stands quiet in a corner; a dot matrix printer from the eighties parked comfortably on a pedestal, the surrounding floor covered with tractor feed printer paper. Then, suddenly, the beast within awakens in an aggressive burst of output. It prints about a page length and returns to its contemplative silence.
The fresh print out seems at first incomprehensible, but in a second glance it becomes much more intricate. It's almost like a peek into the mind of a paranoid schizophrenic. In the third reading it starts to almost make sense, it is about something... but what? I recognize this - there was something about this in the paper this morning!
We Came, We Saw, We...
Installation, mixed media
2006
This installation deals with matters of superficiality and disillusionment. The room of the installation is made inaccessible with a plastic canvas strapped diagonally across the room, from knee level by the entrence to above head height in the opposite corner. The white plastic canvas and black straps are of rustique character for outdoor use. Since the spectator is blocked from entering the space, he is restricted to peeking from the door. The room has no illumination but for a scene back projected on the canvas. Due to the perspective distortion, it is not immediately obvious what is projected. After a while, the spectator identifies the projection as an image of a video projector and cables leading toward him. The colour of the projection and the entire room is slowly pulsating (in approximately 20-30 second cycles) from discreet blue to a greenish tint. By kneeling and peeking under the canvas, the spectator can see the very same video projector that is being projected standing propped up towards the opposite wall. The cables are connected to a video camera on the other side of the room. There is no other light source than the light from the video projector. It is the projector that illuminates the entire scene including itself, making it visible for the camera. The pulsation in colours is the effect of the video camera and the video projector trying to compensate each other in white balance. What is shown is what there is. There is nothing more going on.
