Brian Bixby

Brian Bixby

Jens Hauspurg

Summer semester 2019

Faculty:
Art and Design

Degree programme:
Media Art and Design -Study programme Media Art und Design (MAD) (english) (Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.))

Free project

https://brianbixby.com
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Apparition is a 1:1 scale photographic work that reacts to visitors based on their proximity to the image. When someone approaches the work the image turns white, like a Polaroid photograph in reverse. This effect is achieved by activating electrical particles in a matrix polymer film when a person triggers the built-in motion sensor. Most written accounts of ghost-type encounters include a description of an opaque entity or one that disappears when it is approached and this piece mimics that behavior.

Apparition deals with the subject of loss and remembering the past. A singular viewer in a room with this work may experience a sense of playfulness while simultaneously processing the existential questions posed by the concept of a “ghost” and our own physical impermanence.
The frame design is another important element of the project. The aluminum frame was designed to hold together the photo print, Smart Glass, integrated backlit LED lights, and sensor electronics in a sleek minimalist form that conceals it’s electronics and appears to be a normal picture frame.

The project was first exhibited on April 6th, 2019 in the main building of the Bauhaus University.