I will discuss the final piece of art in my show, which is entitled Coupled Surfaces. This work combines my fascination with the analog and digital, as well as an exploration into personality as a duality of inter- and intrapersonal interactions.

In this work, I explore the physics phenomenon called coupled oscillators. The concept of coupled oscillators comes from the branch of physics called classical mechanics, which studies of Newton’s Laws of motion. Almost any regular, day to day movement that you can imagine, classical mechanics can explain it. A coupled oscillator however, is a specific type of motion that involves two moving objects that are somehow tethered together such that movement of one object will effect the movement of the other. The word ‘coupled’ refers to the connection between the two objects, and the word ‘oscillator’ refers to the type of movement, which is a simple up and down, side to side, or back and forth motion. They are fascinating to watch; however what inspired me to make this piece is that our brain sends the electrical impulse for locomotion in the form of a coupled oscillator to out limbs, so that our legs move as a coupled oscillatory system when walking, running, or another form of movement.

Using an analog computer built in the 1960’s called the Sandin Image Processor, I was able to create a coupled oscillator out of the black and white footage of a video camera. The dark areas of the video pulse in at one repeated pace, while the light areas of the video pulse at another, which connect and stream, through this image processing machine. I then dressed as such that my silhouette - except with no head and neck - was the dark matter on the screen, and the background was the light matter. The dark and light contrast represents the two sides of personality, and the fact that I have to wear dark to appear in the video recalls the idea of having to wear a certain ‘skin’ or ‘mask’ to fit into an external conception or certain group.

The movement I perform largely consists of standing and seated meditation, as well as growing and shrinking my body. The motion is meant to be simple, day to day activities that one may forget they perform so often; however, in the video they are done thoughtfully. I want people to view the movement of my body in a way that allows them to appreciate the mundane and repetitive movements of day to day locomotion. At the end of the video performance I remove the dark layer of clothing I am wearing, so my silhouette disappears into the background. This ending expresses how shedding my virtual presence, my superficial skin, allows me to reconnect to my inner self once more.

The video is projected onto a table that has a sheet of flat glass which is mirrored on the underside, and sandblasted on the top side. The sandblasted treatment gives the surface a matte, snowy texture that will pick up a projection. Looking under the table - a metaphor for going under the surface, into the subconscious or deeper real of something - will show the viewer a glimmering, faint version of the projection, as well as their own reflection looking back at them. Seeing oneself is supposed to remind the viewer of their own presence in physical space, and that what lies under the surface is their own self. These two surfaces, the superficial and deeper, are also coupled in the sense that they exist together always.