Shaw has worked and lived in many places, including European metropolises, Hong Kong, and China.
Shaw has combined tech and art to create artifacts that are to be physically interacted with starting from the 60s.
Shaw collaborates with writers, coders, composers, and other artists.
Shaw is not only creating but also writing on new media art.
Shaw’s artworks are completed by engagement instead of consumption.
Shaw’s artworks are emergent and intend unique non-repeating experiences of serendipity.
Waterwalk (1969), transparent and colored PVC sheeting balloons with watertight zip
Legible City (1989), interactive narrative environment controlled by bicycle interface
Video Narcissus, (1987), camera, video monitor, water tank, and air pump
This installation was specifically designed for an Italian exhibit themed “The Mirror and the Double” and comprises a digital self-reflection with which visitors are meant to interact actively. Referring to the Greek mythology figure of Narcissus who fell victim to his own self-obsession, Video Narcissus invites us to be fascinated by our own images by confronting us with a transformative kind of mirror and infinite versions of ourselves. When a visitor hovers above the artwork, a camera captures their picture and displays it on a monitor covered by a water container. Tracked bubbles of air and an algorithm resulting in a processed image further increase the potential for unique outcomes.
Shaw’s concept allows for an interaction with moving images that goes beyond passive viewing that is reduced to vision only. The actions of the audience become a variable at least as relevant as all the parameters carefully set up by the artist themself. The experience is a direct result of how we decide to engage with the material, creating an expanded perception of our senses. In some way, the viewer gets to marvel at their projected consciousness, perhaps creating an evolutionized version of the Narcissus tale.
the medium is mine
I’m not consumed by its’ consumption
a simple occurrence
there is nothing to miss, but everything to gain
like sun rays in the morning
fleeting, never to be here again
I’m not consumed by its’ consumption
a simple occurrence
there is nothing to miss, but everything to gain
like sun rays in the morning
fleeting, never to be here again
References
Jeffrey Shaw Compendium
Jeffrey Shaw (b. 1944)
installation, performance
oct 8 2024
№3
installation, performance
oct 8 2024
№3