Today I placed several sheets of photographic paper, sealed in two layers of black, light tight envelopes, that I always use for my experiments, behind especially chosen carriers in the studio. A Mirror, A Painting and A Book. For a period of one week, these sensitive creatures will be hidden, absorbing witnesses of all activities around here. Alleged secrets will be brought to light throughout developing processes next Monday, the 22nd of Februray.
1. Mirror
2. Painting
3. Book
The exhibition project Kabinet For Thoughtography is having its own space now. The site is still under development, but will be regularily updated and outdated, added and substracted underlayered and overlayered…
The proposed exhibition aimes to reveal and bring to light throughout a very experimental and strictly artistic approach nowadays unknown or long forgotten thoughtographic researches of the 19th and 20th century. It further seeks to break open their scientific shell and allow new and different perspectives, playful possibilities and directions.
This exhibition is a hidden, interactive installation, an experimental kabinet and laborint of thoughtographic exposure. Secretely embedded in a setting that reminds of the aesthetics of the british television series The Avengers, the concept of the exhibion foresees different interweaving layers. Laborint, Limbo and Lichtung. An eye catching camouflage for a rather delicate if not invisible content.
Any invitiations to a physical exhibition space, or possible integrations of parts of it into already existing structures or concepts are very welcome! The infinitely revised german and english version of the proposal will be hopefully soon ready…
Its new home winkerwatson.com was made possible thanks to the new and wonderful webtool hotglue.me!
The Red Velvet Curtain Cult presents
‘VOYEUR’
A late night event at The Whitechapel Art Gallery .
Thursday 3rd December 2009. 7-10pm.
Free
For their Fourth instalment at the Whitechapel Art Gallery the Red Velvet Curtain Cult presents ‘Voyeur’. An evening of gazing, peeking and lurking with live art, installation, films, readings, audio and oddities inspired by the works and processes of Sophie Calle.
Expect to be spied upon, interrogated, stalked, perplexed, entranced & mystified by this evening exploring voyeuristic tendencies. You will find works in the shadows, intimate encounters, information overload, your thoughts laid bare and secrets exposed…
Serenaded by ‘Love Stop Repeat’ & DJ Sy Hackney, compered by Brian Dawn Chalkley.
Riffat Ahmed, Jack Catling, Amanda Castro with the Jeremis Iron Arts Collective, Rebecca Chitty & David King, Tamara Erde, Camila Fiori, Emma Gibson, The Great Antagonist, Kathrin Günter, Gabo Guzzo, Poppy Jackson, Mary Beth Morossa, Marianna & Daniel O’Reilly, Simon Raven, Alexa Reid, Sarah Ruff, Alexandra Santos, Nicola Singh, Folie a Trois, Richard Webb, Kate Wiggs, Sonya Chenery & Joanna Austin, Andy Wood, Nicola Woodham & Robin Bale
Curated by Lili Spain and Sarah Grainger-Jones.
These are the results of the second experiment exploring telepathic projections onto photosensitive materials. The first image is a close up from the influenced photographic paper, the second one is the negative side of the instant film, as the positive is too subtle to be scanned. Also the photographic paper had to be zoomed about 200% to be able to reveal the tiny stars covering the entire sheet.
I would like to publish the results of two artists, who have been experimenting with my “thoughtographic device” at a show “Wach sind nur die Geister” in Dortmund, Phoenix Halle:
Barbara Breitenfellner, Exposure ca. 15 minutes, Polaroid 667, black and white, 3000 ASA
Sam Ashley, Exposure ca. 15 minutes, Polaroid 667, black and white, 3000 ASA
Beside various experiments throughout last saturdays workshop about thoughtography, including projections and concentration onto different photographic materials, testing phosphoric influences and eye-kamera construction, the heartpiece of the day was the revelation of an overnight and long distance telepathic projection experiment with Lindsay Brown, artist and researcher, currently based in Dundee in Scotland.
Three different photographic devices were prepared and assembled in the darkroom kabinett: a polaroid land camera, loaded with a Fuji FP-3000 b instant film, a sealed sheet of photographic paper and a little piece of an Ilford 3200 ASA photographic film.
While the Ilford filmstrip remained unexposed and didn’t show any result, the Fuji instant film and the photographic paper did indeed.
I pulled out the first polaroid and it came out snow white, which means that it got completely overexposed:
Fuji FP-3000 b – 1
I pulled out the follow-up image, just as I always do to test the film.
This is the result:
Fuji FP-3000 b – 2
Afterwards I developed the paperprint in the darkroom:
Adox easy print 312
The scratches and fingerprints are from me during the developing process, as the paper is very fragile, but the round shape in the upper center of the image came out after ca. 3 minutes of developing time.
My next focus will be on gathering thoughts, reflections and speculations about how the photographic material could get influenced and exposed. I can feel already, that this not going to be easy at all. But as I have been experimenting with thoughtography now for quite a while in a very practical way, it is time to find some words and theories to accompany the images.
Meanwhile, Lindsay and me will continue to experiment within the field of telepathic projections.
Now completely sealed and light-reflecting through a second layer of aluminium foil, covering the black, heavy theatre molton.
Thought is a radiant, creative, almost material power, the fiat lux of
the bible. During the process of thinking, the soul turns the atoms of
the brain into waves and makes its phosphor glow. With concentrating
ones thought onto any object with simple outlines, like a bottle for
example, the fluidic thought image will be forced out through the eyes
to expose itself through the power of its glow onto the photographic
plate. The result is a photographic image.
[Louis Darget, 1911]
In “Light Unseen” participants will try, throughout a variety of
thoughto-photographic experiments, to focus, force, project and
possibly expose thoughts onto photosensitive materials.
All necessary materials, including photographic emulsion, chemicals,
film, paper and polaroid will be provided. Containers or devices may be
constructed here or welcome to be brought along.
Thoughts are welcome. Results cannot be promised.
No experience required.
Cost: €10 per participant (this includes materials, and food)
Please email m@1010.co.uk to reserve a place (strictly limited)
_____-micro_research, pickledfeet, Linienstrasse 54, Berlin 10119
U2, Rosa-Luxemburg-Pl.
U8, Rosenthaler Pl.
Meanwhile my favourite giallo “La tarantula del vientre negro” is looping in the background, the kabinett is slowly taking over the studio. Unfortunately the so called light tight molton leeks light — I will have to make another layer of that black monster. It’s time for a Campari Soda!
With nearly all the ingredients assembled, it is time to start the construction of my first mobile darkroom kabinett, to be able to proceed with new thoughtographic experiments at any time and any place. The mobile darkroom kabinett will be the bigger sister of a mobile laboratory for photosensitive chemistry and processings which has been successfully finished earlier this year.
It will be portable, stable – at least I hope so – and completely light tight. Just a comfortable seat has to be provided at the respective location.
Measurements: 1,30m x 1,70m x 2,20 m.
Materials: Aluminium, metal, molton and velcro
See images of the laboratory below, with many thanks to Lindsay
.
