Here and Then Not
2023
Audio-Visual Installation, Mixed Media Sculpture, 4.1-Channel Sound Composition
SoundsAbout/Zwitschermaschine Gallery for CTM Vorspiel
I remember a night from my childhood, a candle flickering as I stared into a mirror. In the quiet of the night, a strange depth seemed to appear in the reflection, and eyes stared back— mine but somehow not. I leaned closer, drawn in, and in that moment, something shifted. I emerged, but the self that once stared into the mirror felt distant, as though another had stepped through in my place.
We exist within an ever-shifting construct of space, spanning many interconnected dimensions of varying stability. However, we are never truly here and never truly not. What does it mean to be an entity within entities, forever temporary? Our cultures, knowledge, and societies seek to make sense of our existence and to lend some corporeality to this elusive and impalpable psychic reality. But these fabrications betray us, fooling us into believing in the permanence of our feelings, thoughts, circumstances, and knowledge. This misplaced faith often weaponizes, both externally and internally, clouding our minds and weighing down the spiritual self. “Here and then Not” interrogates our temporal perceptions of reality, inviting us to imagine what might instead fill the spaces we inhabit. The work centers around a window, where another dimension can be perceived, inhabiting a formless space. “Here and then Not” is a two-part piece, transforming the space into an immersive environment of light and sound. Inside this immersive space sits a physical sculpture that is both audibly and visually illusory.