Reflection systems (1999-2003)Gilt frame, flat panel display, digital camera, computer, text display; 18x14x4"; 20lbs. status: available as part of a series of related works Reflection systems are a series of life documentation tools. Shown here is the first machine in the series, called simply Reflection. This machine is meant to recall an old hall mirror, in both form and function. Composed of a Windows PC, a flat panel display and a digital camera, Reflection creates an archive of images of the owner over the course of their life. The owner periodically triggers the piece, which snaps their photo and adds it to an archive. If the owner does this every day, or as close to it as possible, the system will build a time-lapse film of their life. Currently the piece features my own increasingly haggard image over the course of the system's three months development cycle.
Embedded in the frame are halogen photo lamps, a digital camera, a small LCD text display, and a key switch. The owner accesses the system using a key which prevents others from corrupting the personalized archive. When the key is turned, the system turns on the lights, take a portrait, date-stamps it and saves it to disk. When not taking pictures, the piece acts as a dynamic portrait, slowly scrolling through the archive, displaying the next portrait every minute or so. The date the photo was taken is displayed on a small text display. A viewer can move forward or backward through the owner's life using two buttons. Pressing a button moves one date. Holding either of the buttons down causes the system to scroll rapidly in time.
In the image at the top of the page you can see a series of images from the archive; a new one will appear every five seconds or so. In the image directly above, you can see the digital camera and one of the halogen photo floods. These lamps insure even image illumination over time despite variations in ambient light conditions. In the image at right, you can see a close up of the screen. Because the color temperature of the fluorescent bulbs in the flat panel display is very different from that of photography lights, the photographs shown here make the portraits appear bluish. In real life, however, they are in beautiful full color.
In the last image, you can see the date display and the buttons which allow you to move forward and backward through the archive. The key switch which activates the photo capture sequence is visible beneath the display. Note: this series is covered in more detail at reflectionystems.org. |
