LCGA Exhibitions

HALL OF MIRRORS -  CLEARY + CONNOLLY

in collaboration with CLARITY: Centre for Sensor Web Technologies & Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception, Université Paris Descartes & CNRS

Curated by Vincent O'Shea

23rd August - 5th October 2012

Using over 50 electronic devices including kinect cameras, video-stereoscopes and perception-headsets, the exhibition strives to awaken the public to the complex and beautiful processes that are involved in seeing. This Limerick exhibition, produced with the support of the Arts Council for Dublin City of Science 2012, is part of a critically acclaimed tour, lasting until January 2013.

For over two years Paris based artists Cleary & Connolly worked closely with scientists at CLARITY : Centre for Sensor Web Technologies and l’Université Paris Descartes on the production of this exhibition, a highly aesthetic and informative trip through the realm of vision. A series of immersive artworks each explore a phenomenon of vision:

Binocular vision, perceptive adaptation, retinal afterimage, trichromatic vision and biological motion perception.

Referencing the traditional fairground “Hall of Mirrors”, many of the artworks focus the viewer on their own image, using interactive new media techniques to transform the image with regard to a given phenomenon. Other works use video and photographic sequences, or constructed props

such headsets and “ videoscopes” to present the experience. Thus a visitor becomes “dot man” in a universe of spinning dot figures inspired by Gunnar Johannson’s experiments in Biological Motion, (1973). A “binocular vision” cube plays with your eyes, and futuristic headsets can be tried on, reenacting George Stratton’s experiments in perceptive adaptation.

For Limerick the exhibition features a very exciting new video installation. Real Time Rolling Shutter, resulting from an internship at CLARITY this summer, captures and expresses movement in time in a graphic manner, similar to the slit scan techniques used in photography and in post

production for ‘70’s TV series such as Doctor Who. This has not been done live before for exhibition. The exhibition also features the work of final year students from Mary Immaculate College, Limerick who have used the Cleary & Connolly exhibition as a springboard for developing innovative art workshops for children, which will run throughout the duration of the exhibition.

Cleary/Connolly would like to acknowledge the support of the following organisations in making this exhibition possible. The Office of Public Works; The Railway Procurement Agency; Mayo County Council; Castlebar Town Council; Kerry County Council; Department of Environment, Heritage and local Government; Saint Josephs Secondary School, Castlebar; Ardfert Central National School; Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick; Kirby Group Engineering Ltd.

Limerick City Gallery of Art; Castlebar Neighbourhood Youth Project, Foróige; The residents of Tower Hotel, Clondalkin; Members of the Tower Sewing Club.