The projections kaleidoscopes produce are fleeting and difficult to replicate, the illusion of the infinite evokes Islamic geometric design or mandalas, but they support no doctrine, simply providing a moment of stillness and observation, one that is sadly often lacking in our contemporary worlds. The tesselations recall Escher’s brightly woven figures and the patterns invoke the fractals, whilst the colour and the movement could be free associated with the 1960s hippy culture of tie-dye and hallucinogens. Disregarding these passive associations these pieces remind us of the complexity of existence, the patterns that repeat, the diversity we should delight in and the joy of experience. They represent the act of interruption and momentary play; a childhood innocence long forgotten. A moment of reflection can be a revolutionary act.

The photographs documented the act of looking, the solitary performance that was absent and denied to the viewer, replaced by the document. These lenticulars, part of the Oscillations series, are my attempt to correct this. They capture a few seconds that can be infinitely re-experienced, frozen in a time capsule for anyone who cares to look. There is a poetic appeal of one slightly anachronistic technology replacing another and integrity in an artwork that adopts one optical illusion to create another. 

The scale is encompassing and can still dominate your field of vision, the oscillation of the surfaces allows you to detect the exact relation of one moment to the other. The viewer can break down the relations and transformation of the image through movement. This isn’t a piece that you can stand passively in front of but like the original object it demands an interaction, in this case, a movement across the gallery space. The body moves but the mind is focused. This is an inversion of the relationship between movement and animation in the original object, the public and the private act of looking, the performance of discovery.

These are 100cm x 100cm animated lenticulars. Editions of 6.

Videos demonstrating work:

https://youtu.be/tqGOmkrUMOA

https://youtu.be/KkMUaNo74Gg

Artist's website for more information: https://www.oliviafero.com/portfolio/oscillations