Aura

Aura, 2003

limestone, video
9x32x30 cm, 4'20" loop


Here the same technique was applied as that used in the realization of Fungi and Grass, but the pictures were taken from above so that the only thing that appears is a surface that totally excludes the surrounding environment. This projected surface looks abstract, and the lack of a surrounding environment makes the size of the photographed object indefinable. This may enrich the potential number of perceptual associations. The exhibition of the sculpture, however, causes a visual conflict, as it confronts the onlooker with the work's real proportions. In order to make the changes visible, the lighting had to be varied, as only small circles and the larger circles (craters) around them were visible from above. I built an oval shaped arch around the stone and changed the position of the lamp on it in each picture; in this way the movement of the shadows helps the viewer to understand the changes. This also gives a time frame to the work: the small sticks grow "in one day". The length and speed of the film is also determined by the movement of the sun: as the first forms appear at the beginning and the shadows become longer at the end the visual effect is more spectacular, while movement cannot be detected in the middle of the film, even though the sense of change is clear.


Video downloads (6.5MB)
Stills from the video