2017, Installation piece, 3.5 x 2.5 x 3.2’.

The main intention of this black light installation is to blur the lines between our known (read: believed) reality and what we actually perceive through our senses. The human brain is far more powerful force than some may assume, and it is both fascinating yet extremely unsettling that our own minds are capable of altering our perception of the world around us -- oftentimes on a wholly subconscious level. At the same time, we operate on an extremely fickle balance of sensory input and the resulting consciousness -- a balance that can be upset at any given moment (head trauma, substances, mental illness, or simply illogical reasoning/irrational thought). 

The installation itself incorporates an optical motion illusion, sound (psytrance elements), and various lighting effects to facilitate the disorienting effect of the space. Several lesser themes include the wires and cables running throughout the exterior of the space, which tie in with the broken TV sets illustrated along the interior -- indicative of the overwhelming slew of digital information and mass-produced media that our present generations are subjected to on a daily basis. First-world consumerist societies are incessantly bombarded with the pressures and desires left in the wake of this new technological age, and I think that given the luxury of having our immediate needs (food, shelter) taken care of for the most part, there’s been an increasing amount of attention paid to the detrimental effects of constant stress on our mental health and perception of reality. On the flip side, the more tribal song elements acts as a sort of juxtaposition to the technology -- different states of consciousness and mind alteration underpins a large part of human history, and in this sense I’d also like to address 1) the stigma against any and all mind-altering substances/experiences; 2) the fact that mankind today is no different today than has been across the time and space of civilization; 3) the self-assuredness with which many of us approach our own thoughts/beliefs; and 4) the slow, self-destructive nature of our current consumerist/technological culture, and the increasingly evident trajectories across which its effects manifest.

The ultimate objective of the installation space itself is purely to engage the viewer in a mind-altering experience that forces him to question the validity of his own eyes (physical), perception (spiritual), and resulting sensory dissonance (mental).