- blind spot

Blind Spot, 2014
Installation View at Linden Centre for Contemporary Arts, Innovators 1.
Perspex - Height 2.2m x Width 1.7m x Length 1.2m
Mirror - 1.2m Diameter

‘In every observation there is a blind spot, the spot on the retina where the optical nerve is connected making the eye blind on that very spot, all one can do is try to move these blind spots, in an effort to catch a glimpse of the invisible’- Krogh Jensen

Blind Spot, is a daring attempt to map out a large hole in space- a complex and multifaceted anti-form that is as optically impossible to describe as the space inside an atom. The work is based on one of the most significant environmental discoveries of our age: the Ozone Hole. Like an iceberg looming in space, it is a dark wonder of the natural world, a landmark that cannot be found on any atlas or world map. Its appearance in our atmosphere every spring is a haunting reminder of how close we come to pushing our environment beyond the point of regeneration. As the southern Ozone hole appears to be stabilizing, the northern hole continues to grow, breaking record after record every year. This provokes a continuing dialogue on the Montreal protocol: did we get it right and is this the first instance of changing our behaviour to correct the imbalance humans have created in nature?

Finding a means to visually and conceptually fathom this unperceivable aspect of nature, Blind Spot aims to delineate the blind spot in perception that fails to make the connection between existence and the systems within nature that support it. Beyond the visible, these systems can only be seen when aided by lenses and computers. These devices filter nature, offering a techno- romantic glimpse into existence.

“I wanted the viewer to be able to look up and see the ozone hole hovering in the ceiling of the gallery. By creating a lens-like mirror and installing it above the work, I was able to use the mirror like a satellite, to reflect what was otherwise out of view to the earth bound.

When I was working with the scientific data from NASA I had a feeling the shape and form of the ozone hole would resemble something recognizable from nature but I wasn’t sure what. As I transferred it from a two-dimensional to three drawing I came to the realization that the hole looked like it was an iceberg. An iceberg looming in space – and the tip of the iceberg of our environmental issues.”

Within my arts practice I reinterpret traditional craft based materials and techniques, working with new technologies to find innovative ways to respond to the issues the work addresses. Observing nature filtered through imagery from NASA’s Earth Observing Satellite Data Centre, Earth’s life support systems become visible.

Today there is a tenuous relationship between the fragility of our environment and its ability to regenerate. The success or failure of this lies in learning how to make the concerns of these invisible aspects of our life support system on Earth visible so that the unforeseeable consequences never eventuate. The forecast for tomorrow’s weather is reliant on our perception of today.

Blind Spot is a continuation of my ongoing research. Its trajectory can be seen from my previous series, Life SupportSystems, funded by the City of Melbourne Arts Project Grants.

View: standing next to artwork looking up at reflection in mirror. Ribbons of light on the ceiling - natural light reflection/refraction from artwork. This changes colour and position through out the day.