Baby Shimmer
This is part of a larger artwork. See the full artwork series:
Referencing some of the techniques Harris employed in his smaller scale artworks, Baby Shimmer is a physical amplification of Harris' fascination with the role of the viewer and their interaction with colour, light and movement.
The colour shifting volumes of light respond to the movement of the viewer. In an era in which our lives are becoming increasingly digitised, the ultra-low resolution pixelation of shifting colour presented within the installation harks back to simpler times of less resolution and lower fidelity.
Harris describes this phenomenon as "low fidelity, high granularity", but realises it with his characteristic precision of manufacture, coupled with his obsession with viewer engagement.
The Collection
Images
Information
Year:
2018
Edition:
Edition of 18 + 2 Artist Proofs per colour combination
Materials:
Glass, aluminium, electronics, acrylic
Details:
Dimensions in MM:
200 (Ø) x 115 (D) mm
Dimensions in INCHES:
7.9 (Ø) x 4.5 (D) inches
Context
"There’s a part of me that’s always wrestling with the idea that I should focus on a singular aspect of my work. So, should I work with the video pieces or should I work with the design objects? I think a long time ago I just gave up trying to decide and embraced the two. That’s why a lot of the pieces actually have this incredible overlap between a digital light framework and a mechanical framework, where no details are left undefined. Perhaps artworks such as Chess Block, Shimmer, Digital Shimmer and Baby Shimmer are very much about this relationship with light that I see in the digital pieces and the screen-based pieces. To me, light and colour are so important. Throughout my schooling, through high school and beyond, I’ve always been involved in theatre design, stage sets and lighting design. It meant as a 14 year old I had this experience that influences my art now. I remember when I was doing theatre, there was always the thing about actors who have to stay in character because they never know when they are going to be photographed. They need to look absolutely perfect and I kind of use that for my work: the idea that even if you’re watching one of the flowers in Bloomed doing something purely whimsical, like waving hello to you, if you were to take a still of it, it would always be in character. The stills of any of the artworks never look like they are doing anything out of place. It’s not until you see them in life and you see them in motion and actually living that you really comprehend their full story." - Dominic Harris
Extract from interview with Dominic Harris by Simon Quintero.