Overlapped
Exploring our intertwined existence between the ones before us, among us, and those to come as the past and future rely on this instant.
Beginning Stages
I went into my thesis class with the general idea that I wanted to try and create my first projection mapping piece.
I had initially played with the idea of using Kodak Carousel / Slide Film Projector to exhibit a clock/time and how humans attempt to freeze moments through pictures but kept returning to projection mapping as the method I wanted to use.
I was greatly inspired by SCAD alumni projection pieces like Mandie Stanton & Alex Campbell, 100% Yes, 2020 and Ally Munro, The Lightness of Being, 2019
Outline Sketch of Idea
Project Goals for Prism
(The project was initially named Prism:)
- Easy access / ability to walk around it
- View it from different angles and sides
- Glass element will either be
- Frosted on each end so that they don’t interact in middle
- Interacting element from the video of the 2 projectors
Influencing Quotes for this body of work:
“We can never be the people we admire - we can only be ourselves & that alone is admirable”
— Unknown
“Time moves backward, time moves forward, time stands still.”
— Joy (movie)
Scripts
I had two scripts towards the beginning of this process as I discerned exactly what I wanted to communicate with this piece.
Initial Script for Prism
As prisms, at our core we are refractive and reflective surfaces that at different angles and thoughts can turn white light into a spectrum of colors.
With the knowledge that light travels faster than sound, our vessels carry a warm and bright glow to one another without delay. In our collective search for the meaning of life, our prismatic forms also have unifying colors that quietly reveal that the meaning of it all is carrying the torch in union for the ones before us, among us, and those to come.
Initial Script for Overlap
When something overlaps, it creates something quite beautiful where you can see a layer curtain the one below it. It is the convergence of start and finish - the perfect middle of the present moment. When light meets a prism at just the right angle, white light becomes a spectrum of colors.
We are the overlap of everyone we have come into contact with. In our collective intersecting time on the planet and simultaneous search for the meaning of life, our intertwined existence quietly reveals that the meaning of it all is carrying the torch in union for the ones before us, among us, and those to come as the past and future rely on this instant.
Refining the Idea
There was a glass panel table being discarded near my home that I thought would be a great object for this work as it was already shattered and had many possibilities of refracting light. It made me imagine maybe incorporating water or colored LEDs as well.
During this time, I started reading The Spell of the Sensuous by David Abram and in the preface of the book it is written:
“Humans are tuned for relationship…We still need that which is other than ourselves and our own creations…we are human only in contact, and conviviality, with what is not human.”
— The Spell of the Sensuous by David Abram
The project was going to be called “Overlap”
Goals for Overlap
- A sensory outdoor installation utilizing 2 projectors, white fence, audio, and fragmented glass
- Experimenting with sound and substance and how they overlap with light within our world in relation to the human experience
- Script revealed in sections throughout the piece exploring the overlap of people, time, and nature in our being
Timeline for Overlap
- Get a grasp on projectors + Mad Mapper
- Experiment with sound & footage in MM/projectors
- Collect audio & video assets specific to project
- Edit said audio & video assets
- Fine tune installation overall
Asset List for Overlap
- Projector + Accessories
- Glass
- Water
- Adobe After Effects
- Adobe Premiere
- DSLR for documentation
- Speakers
- Audio for experience
Overlap
Style Frames
I had thoughts of placing the table on its side and have the sunlight refract through the glass panel and then using a flashlight at night to visibly show the passing of time.
I also hypothesized about making abstract, geometric shapes and projecting them on the glass panel and thus creating a greater of shapes captured on the white fence paneling.
I had thought about having colored LEDS directly under the glass, plus cups full of varying amounts of water on top of the table to see how they might interact with one another.
The Four Tests
1. Light + Glass Panel
Here I learned that the glass panel I had acquired didn’t refract in the way I anticipated. I did enjoy how light emitted through it, but it did not serve the purposes I had wished.
2. Projection + Water
Here I tested with a clear, plastic cup and while I found it interesting, I realized that it was moving the project in the direction I was looking for
3. Projection Test + Shattered Panel
Here that I discovered that I really enjoyed making the flat projection have depth in a 3D environment. I was specifically taken aback for how mesmerizing it could be.
4. Projector Test + Footage
This was the deciding test that changed the trajectory of the project: I discovered my passion for footage of loved ones being projected and the liveliness it gave the videos.
Light + Glass Panel
Projection Test + Water
Projection Test + Shattered Panel
Projector Test + Footage
From then on the theme of Overlap had a new focus:
the overlap of home videos in my childhood home today & the overlap of past and present meeting
Thus the revisiting the idea of exploring our intertwined existence between the ones before us, among us, and those to come as the past and future rely on this instant.
I then went deep into archival work. I digitized over 48+ hours of my home movies - collecting the video assets was a feet!
I then chose the places of my home that I wanted to document and filmed many clips that didn’t make the final cut for various reasons, but in the end, the original scripts were cut, minimal type was used at the front and end other project, and the piece takes a “tour” of my childhood home and the memories that all the walls hold.
“Overlap or Overlapped?”
In the end, the project was named Overlapped, not Overlap to reinforce the time element that I want to convey.
Final Frames
