Written by Joseph O'Connell
Founder, President & Artistic Director at Creative Machines
For me, art making is a process of discovery before it is communication. I make art to explore ideas and discover new experiences. Most of the art I make is interactive, which means that I often discover the full meaning of an artpiece only when other people experience it.
Recently, I have been working on an art project that seeks to explore the concept of the multiple voices that reside within each of us. The project is centered around a unique mask composed of hundreds of spherical lenses.
When someone gets inside the mask, it allows them to experience the world from multiple perspectives.
Inside the mask, the participant is surrounded by hundreds of glass spheres that function as fisheye lenses, each with a slightly different view outward. The viewer inside the mask see different aspects of the world depending upon what angle they look.
They also see multiple reflections and the overlap of images from the different directions.
Onlookers outside the mask see through these lenses in the opposite direction, seeing different aspects of the person wearing the mask depending on the angle from which they look inward.
This art piece is an expression of the idea that we are all complex and multifaceted individuals. The view from within and without reflects the inner struggles and conflicts that we all face as we try to manage the competing voices within our heads and organize them into a harmonious ‘society’ that presents a singular face to world.
The mask encourages the viewer to reflect on the nature of the self. I am excited to see how the mask will be received as people experience it for themselves.
published on January 20, 2023
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