Tracking the Loving Gaze (2017-2019)
A collaboration project with: Omiros Panayides
Read more about this project here. This is the final version of the article “Tracking the Loving Gaze” that has been accepted for publication at Leonardo journal [MIT press].
We asked 30 people to provide us with a photograph they love or one with a very special meaning for them. Then, we used an eye tracker - a device usually used in psychology, marketing, and human-computer interaction research - to measure the point of gaze (where one is looking at) and its duration. An eye-tracker provides raw visual data, such as heat maps, focus maps, or scan paths. For us, these visual data where the primary source for this work.
TRACKING THE LOVING GAZE: HEAT MAPS
For the first part of the work - “Tracking the Loving Gaze: Heat Maps” - we transferred the participants’ “heat maps” on films and then developed them in the photographic darkroom on gelatin silver print paper. Effectively, we started with photographs provided by the participants, tracked the participants’ “loving gaze” with the help of a technological device, and fixed that gaze on photographic paper in the traditional darkroom. The thirty pieces are unique (1 of 1) as is our experience with a photograph we love.
TRACKING THE LOVING GAZE: ABSENCES
The second part, “Tracking the Loving Gaze: Absences”, consists of five images provided by participants. However, it’s impossible for the common viewer to see what the owner of the photograph sees. The area most viewed by the owner, is obscured.
1. “My only sister”, Myrofora, 20 years old; 2. “The little girl”, Christina, 19 years old; 3. “Exit”, Artemis, 21 years old; 4. “My best friend”, Mikaella, 19 years old; 5. “Lion king”, Alexis, 21 years old.
TRACKING THE LOVING GAZE: SCAN PATHS
Finally, the third part, “Tracking the Loving Gaze: Scan Paths” is an installation of four videos. The visitor can follow the gaze of a photograph’s owner in “real time”. The title and participants’ descriptions are an integral part of the work.
EXHIBITION VIEWS
Exhibition Views, Phenomenological Lightworks, NeMe Art Foundation, Oct. 2017