On Disappearance

Immersive video installation. Edition: 3+3 (Finnish & English versions)
Video mixed with real-time camera feed. Wall and screen constructions.
Duration of loop 6min 6sec, stereo, 2012

On Disappearance is an immersive, computer-aided video installation. The  spectator is placed on a stage to act as a central character in the movie. On the screen the spectator is drawn into another time and space, where he/she encounters another person - the author of the work - as if they were sharing the same space. First, the author's voice tells about his ambiguity and estrangement towards this place where he has returned. Then the author turns his gaze towards the spectator and addresses him/her, questioning their mutual position and situation.

The work deals with the changes in our spatial and temporal experience induced by the current communication technology. Technology has altered the habits of social encountering. How do we encounter the other in this virtualized world?

On Disappearance – structure of the installation

To see the work, the spectator enters into a bounded area inside the installation. A real-time camera is aimed precisely at that part of the installation space. The resulting image is embedded in the film - inside the mirror frames in the room of the film. Therefore, the spectator sees him/herself “reflected” in the mirrors, as if he/she was sharing the same space with the narrator. The camera has been placed specifically so that, while focusing his/her gaze on him/herself in the film projection, it appears to the spectator that his/her stare is aiming at the narrator.