I really like how it was presented because with the single TV and a little chair, it create sort of like an alien creature especially with the ‘Single Eye video’. It tried to invade the places or the viewer with the single eye on the Television. Displacing what the viewer see with the uncomfortable fast movement image with the terrible noise appeared. With this set up, it was not a proper set up. However it is just an experiement to see how it appeared on the space.
During the process of making my previous work, ‘Mata Installation’, I manage to produced lots of video from it. What I mean is that it creates a lot of possibilities and narratives. Perhaps it could be sort of memories or something that we used to see. As you know that the video is sort of like displacing myself through vision. It is like how the culture could change myself or teach my self through the perception of the life.
Belows are the video sequences which it made from my previous installation using the magnifying glass as a methapor of an eye (present as capturing the moment or something that I been before). Before that, I made two posibilities of this works. The first one I called it a ‘Single Eye’ and the second ‘CCTV’.
'Single EYE' video - 1mins
As a Single eye, it present on how our eyes function or how it capture the scenery of everyday life starting from early morning, woke up watching the sunrise and end up sleep back onthe bed. It is about how our life cycle everyday in some way. Percepting on each days and remembering it through following days as memory. It is clear to me, from this video, it shows about something that I left over from few days ago or over a decade, something from the past. However, with the flashing back memory, we remember somewhere that we been before, on that moment, but it is not clearly what happen or not clear how the scene looks like. So with this piece, I made it interm of flash back, somewhere that I been through, which obviously, I been there while I am doing my recording scene, but with this process or method, it creates something that we always done on everyday life. Imagine it, whats happen if we looks back through the whole years since we born until now. It will end up with sort of ‘displacement of memory’. Each year have different scene, memory or mood. Thousand of story can be made in one year.
In this video, I made it into fast version. I wanted to make it sort of displacement through perception and flashing back from the past, something like memory. Reminising the moment that I been before. With the fast version, it was not clearly seen what the image is all about. It is only can be seen the city, people , transportation or anything that we see on everyday life. In this video, I made it sort of like an eye, how our eyes captured the thing that we see on everyday life through our eye’s lens (subtitude with magnifying glass) and straight back to our brain as a memory store.
With the green-ish colour of the video or sort of neon strike colour, it helps to create a disturbing feelings or visions with not good quality image. It is kind of how we try to recall back what we think or what we remember of the scene, struggling to connect with our mind. But with the fast version of this video, I deliberately made it to make people uncomfortable to see it. In other way, it sort of my personal things of memory in my head and people would not know or what I see right now. It is clearly hidden with emotional of displacement but perhaps it is true effect of how we see things in that way.
'CCTV' - 1 mins
As you can see above, is the second video that I made from my previous installation. Here I made a mix combination of all the video with different format and random arrangement. This video installation, I called it ‘CCTV’. The way it run is similar with the first video but in this version, I randomly arranged the video in different position from different sequence that I took from the RAW footage. However, it also run in a fast version by 1 mins. It is in a looping format.
The reason why I called this video ‘CCTV’ is because I wanted to show the relation of our everyday life which been stalk or looking by the eyes of camera such as security camera or maybe peoples eye. It is like someone looking behind us but we didnt know. But obviously we been watched by God (who believe it exist) and it also similar with what I feel. Feeling being displace by the culture of new places but not really comfortable with the surrounding.
Also in this video, it creates a visual impact which makes people uncomfortable watching it, because of the fast movement image and the disturbing noises appeared in the video. It sort of like brain washing people mind through vision with the green-ish memory colour. In these whole situation, I am making sort of like a flashing back the internal memory of life living inside UK as a giant place to survive. Having real actual journey of life experience which makes you unforgettable.
With the video itself, it comes out really successful especially with the second video because with uncomfortable scene and noise, it shows the feeling of displacement which mean something emotional thrown hardly through the viewer’s vision. It also successful with the technique of using the magnifying glass and projection (the whole function) as to present how the eyes works with different medium. It shows how our eyes percepting the scene that we see everyday but with this video it shows the interior or the detail of the vision that we see on everyday life. The disadvantage about this video is that, the projection or the subject that I show for the video was not really clear what is all about. Perhaps that what I really what for this concept, something that not really clear like memory. In this case, it is clearly shows about myself, with the first time I came to this new place, London ( United Kingdom) as the main subject for this video, which obviously it was the first time I am looking the huge modern city with the big building and new faces of people around me.
However, with this piece, I could make a improvise for other project with the same concept of this work.
Here is the view during the night time, the day before the exhibition started
The closer view of the installation
At first, I was not pretty happy due to the space for my work because as you know the projection usually need the darker space but some how, with a lot of experimenting especially to locate the piece is really challanging for me. As you can see the work above, the position of the work is sort of like an ‘L’- shape but it also a 90 degree shape of triangle (following with the corner space). However, I really statisfied with the work at the end especially the projection and the live view on the television. it turns out really well.
Basically the whole work is straight to the point. It is an idea how we look at things or our surrounding which ended into our memory especially when we experiencing of something and brought it up into our present time.
With this work, it gave me a lot of thinking even though this work is simple and straight forward, but it still have a weakness link especially the projection. The subject that I brought up as part of ‘what we see’ especially the london view. Sometime I am not really confident to use it as a projection subject but the good things is that, it turned out really amazing video installation at the live view on television. With the fluroscent green colour and also the blurr images appeared between the magnifying glass (image below) and the projection, it gives the result that I want. It was a successful video. Its clearly shows a memorial moment or experience moment in our life, but in my case its about how my eyes was bright out and wide open looking the new surrounding. It could be sort of like a culture shock, something that really rare to be seen in my life.
During the exhibition, I managed to meet a lot of peoples and receiving a lot of feedbacks. Most of the audience really likes the live Television, showing a closer view of an eye function, how this vision going to be look like in our own eyes. However during the exhibition, I found out an interesting interaction comes out between my installation with the viewer especially the children.
As you can see the image below, during the exhibition started, the kids were playing with my installation piece, playing with the Live television and the Live record through magnifying glass. They really like to see themselve through the Live Televison, especially seeing themselve distorted by the magnifying glass on the television. You can see the closer view at the second image below, where the little girl with the black shirt showing her mouth through the magnifying glass to see her funny image of her face (distorted) at the Television.
From that situation, I point out some interesting ideas that I need to approach on the next project such as making an interaction piece by playing games with the audience or as to tease the view through the use of this kind of installation.
The result of the installation
A perception of life through the magnifying glass. looking deeply through the inner subjective emotion or experience. Looking back through the past and somewhere that experience it before. Displacement with new surrounding and creating new life being somewhere that not really use to.
Basically the meaning of the word ‘MATA’ is came from a malay word called an ‘EYES’, which relation to the word ‘MELIAT’, means ‘Looking’. I choose this word as the main topic of this project because in this installation it is a metaphor of a displacement through vision, perception of life. I used the Eyes function to relate the main concept of displacement. It sort of looking through the detail of how eyes work to capture the vision.
Below is the documentation of my work during the MA interim show in our second semester. At first we were been told to choose the spot for the exhibition but unfortunately, I do not have enough choice for my work but I managed to deal with it and end up with this space below. Actually I dont mind where my work will be. It depend on the space where it given and as an artist we could create the work or suits the work with our own artistic mind. However, below is the documentation of the work.
My actual space for my installation during the MA exhibition
Before that, I edited the video for the projection which I wanted to show during the MA interim show. In that projection, it shows a metaphor moment or scene which I believe, it displace myself through my own vision especially escalator and the subway. It relation with the main meaning of those two words which ‘brings’ or ‘shift’ people from one place to another. Overall, the video shows a different location of places in London which I believe it displace myself from my comfort zone or a metaphor of displacement which occured to myself especially through perception of the surrounding or the perspective view of the scenery which I think a narrow image or narrow space could relate with sort of like Vortex concept. Sucking into a black hole and appear somewhere that I never been before.
However, below I showed the video that I made for the projection. But I was not really sure or confident with this video that I made. It feels something missing inside the video but I’m still dont have any clue about it.
video for the projection
I started with experimenting with different kind of position to make this cycle works with the space. However, there are lots of boundaries that I need to focus with, which are the space for the viewer to walk pass or to give them a space for closer view and also the equivalent of the evironment shape such as the window, the shape of the projection with the television and everything must be in equal but the most important thing is that the health and safety risk which are the organisation of the wires and the equipment through the used of the space provided.
TRIAL AND EXPERIMENTATION
Here I tried to relate the television with the window especially the equal square shape
During this setting up session, it is pretty hard to deal with the space and the lights as to relating with the work because it have a lot of posibilities that I can do to create this piece.
At the end, I managed to finalise the position of the work relating with the space.
At the first place, i wanted to create a circle shape or triangle shape which creates a continuous cycle from the beginning until never end. Perhaps it could be a straight line, showing the process of how this installation works, from one stage to another. However, to suits the space with the work, I organise the piece with sort of geometry shape, a ‘L’ shape or 90 degrees angle. It is sort of like a calculation of science relating with the main concept of the work, which is the Eyes – function and the system of human body.
However, with this location or settings, I also try to relate with the equal geometry shape of the surrounding especially the square and rectangle shape of the windows. Its organising the more space rather than creating an abstract shape, which pretty hard to understand. As you can see the work mainly straight forward as the same function of our own eyes.
Before I move on for my experiment, I found a readymade object which been given from my friend Charlotte. She gave me a small door which she found from the skip of her neighbour’s house. However, I was amaze by the shape of the door and I was planning to make it as part of my installation work using this little door (as you can see below). I painted one of the door surface into black colour. I was trying to relate two different reality which mean, The ‘White’ colour represent the past which we perceive and then the ‘Black’ colour I choose it as the present. However the door, I made it sort of like a starting point of two realities.
space that given for the MA interim show for my work
However, this work is just a spontaneous minimal conceptual art work or maybe experiment that I did back in the studio. I tried to apply with the ‘MATA’ installation to see how its looks like because as I mention above, I made this door as a point of where two realities meet.
Below you can see the spontaneous experiment that I made using this door with my previous installation.
Starting point of the cycle (white door)and the result of the cycle (Black Door)
Closer view of the projection
Here as you can see I made an experiment, combining my previous work with this little black and white door. I do the same thing what I made at the first place on the previous work but with this door, I just subtitute the wall where I used to project into this Little door because at the front surface, White colour, it will be the starting point of the cycle and the behind of this door, will be the result of the projection. You can see more the pictures below.
Basically this just a spontaneous experiment combining of the readymade object (the little black and white door) with the readymade technology. At first, I was more focusing and interested with the cycle of this installation but it was hard to connect the subject of what I really want especially the material that I used, the wooden door and also the installation. But in this case, It is actually does not connect at all especially, the colour of the door or the medium it self with the projection. It was totally trial and error concept. However it could be a metaphor for the subject that I made especially displacing into two realities which are the white and black space. I agree with what my tutor said to me that the wood as itself, is part of the construction house which means using the modern technology equipment such as the projector and also the old scrap little door, it just didnt make sense or connection relating the concept and the actual work but in other perspective, when he said that ‘it part of the construction’ – it give me thinking of the way how our own mind creates our own privacy world which most probably the way we preceive and we use our mind as architecture to creates our own subjective world.
